The main event for Polaris 23 is now set, and former UFC middleweight world champion Chris Weidman will be facing ADCC veteran and Polaris fan-favourite Owen Livesey.
Weidman is a decorated wrestler, achieving All-American status in the NCAA Division I championships on two separate occasions. He famously won ADCC trials after around a year of submission grappling training and faced Andre Galvao in the opening round of ADCC 2009. Although he didn’t win, Weidman gave a fantastic performance against a veteran BJJ black belt who went on to win a silver medal at the same tournament. Since then Weidman has been promoted to BJJ black belt by Matt Serra and Renzo Gracie, and rose to fame when he dethroned Anderson Silva to claim the UFC middleweight title.
Now Weidman will be returning to submission grappling for the first time since ADCC 2009 to take on a familiar face for Polaris fans, Owen Livesey. Livesey is a Commonwealth Games gold medallist Judoka who transitioned to no gi grappling exceptionally well. He has won several matches on the Polaris mats against the likes of Freddie Vosgrone and Josh Hinger, along with being invited up to compete at ADCC 2022. Although he went out in the opening round, Livesey gave a great account of himself against the eventual champion Kaynan Duarte and will present a tough challenge for Weidman at Polaris 23.
