Polaris News

There's been a change to the main event of Polaris 28 on just one day's notice, as Baysangur 'Baki' Chamsoudinov will be replacing Yoel Romero in his match against Owen Livesey. Romero was already on his way to England in order to compete at Polaris 28 but severe storms have led to several flight cancellations and he wasn't able to make the journey. With just one day left before the event was due to take place, Baki was ready to step in and make his Polaris debut against an incredibly tough opponent. Baki is a young professional MMA fighter competing out of Paris, France and he's been working his way up the rankings with incredible speed over the last few years. Baki went 2-0 in amateur MMA to start his career and turned professional while he was still a teenager, and he continued his winning ways despite the step up in competition. He went 7-0 as a professional with 4 finishes on the regional MMA circuit, before getting the opportunity to compete in the Professional Fighter's League at PFL Europe 1 earlier this year. With a win over Cedric Doumbe in his promotional debut, Baki is in a great position...

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The main card for Polaris 28 is now complete as the final match taking place is ready to be announced, and the preliminary card has grown significantly too. Ellis Younger is a popular competitor with a ton of experience at Polaris and he's beaten some of the best grapplers in the world like Ashley Williams and Mike Perez over the years. He's coming back for another tough test at Polaris 28, as the final main card match will see him take on debuting elite UK black belt Sam Quinn. Another Polaris veteran slots into the preliminary card, as Fred Greenall will welcome top Scottish competitor Kevin McAloon in what promises to be an exciting match. Judo specialist Christian Ozbek is coming back too after putting his standing grappling skills on full display last time around, and Carlson Gracie Hull's Jack Hassard will undoubtedly bring the fight to him. Jake Goldthorpe returns as well and he's been given a really tough matchup against Gary Priestly, another match that's sure to produce some fireworks. The final preliminary card match features surging BJJ brown belt Abraham Dannan against veteran grappler and Counter Grappling head coach Jack Hampshaw.

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The Polaris 28 preliminary card is starting to take shape, with 8 exciting matches now fully booked and ready to be announced. The first of these preliminary card matches is a superb booking between former Polaris title-challenger Jack Sear and one of the most exciting competitors in the US right now, Julian Espinosa. Sear isn't the only Polaris veteran returning for our 28th event either, as fan-favorites Shane Fishman and Shane Curtis are coming back to face one another in a battle between two of the UK's best. Chris White and Bellator MMA fighter Jamie Faulding are also returning too, and they will be facing Lee Herbert and Sam Barker respectively. Danny Ball will also be returning to the Polaris mats to take on Kieran O'Brien, and there's a fantastic women's match included in this first wave of preliminary matches as well. Amy Derwanz has been competing all over the UK and having fantastic performances in every match, while Robyn Lucas is coming off an impressive win over Kristie Raby at Polaris 27. There are some debuting grapplers to keep an eye on too, as Jared Eaton will be taking on Craig Young in his first appearance and top prospect...

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The main card for Polaris 28 already has a pair of title-fights and an absolute superfight, and now two more fantastic matches can be confirmed. The first of the most recent matches features one of the most successful Scottish MMA fighters and grapplers of all time, Stevie Ray. Although Ray has picked up several wins on the Polaris mats over the years, this will also be one of his toughest tests to date. Jed Hue is a Polaris fan-favorite thanks to his exciting style and his numerous wins against some of the biggest names in the sport like AJ Agazarm and Oliver Taza. Both men will have plenty of support from the crowd and it's going to be an entertaining match from start to finish. The second match that's been added to the main card includes two-time ADCC Trials winner Santeri Lilius, as he makes his return to the Polaris mats. He's already made one appearance at ADCC two years ago and will be gearing up for another run at glory later this year, so this match against Ben Bennett will be fantastic preparation for that. Bennett is coming off the best performance of his career when he won a...

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A second title-fight has now been added to the card for Polaris 28, as Helena Crevar will be making her debut against Jessika Torttila for the vacant under 70kg title. Helena Crevar has been one of the top prospects in the sport for several years now and she's been beating experienced adults since she was a young teenager. She moved to train under John Danaher at New Wave Jiu-Jitsu and has since progressed to the highest levels of the sport, culminating in her recent ADCC Trials gold medal. Now she's signed an exclusive UK contract with Polaris and in her very first match she has the opportunity to become the inaugural under 70kg world champion Her opponent for the title-fight is Jessika Torttila, one of the top competitors on the European circuit right now. She won a pair of bronze medals in the purple belt divisions at the IBJJF World Championship last year and was promoted to brown belt by Tommi Pulkkanen as a result. She immediately showed that she belonged at that level by winning a silver medal at the IBJJF No Gi European Championships and another silver medal at ADCC Trials. It will undoubtedly be an exciting match...

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A title will now be on the line at Polaris 28, as Mateusz Szczecinski is set to defend his welterweight belt against Levi Jones-Leary. Szczecinski had several impressive performances on the Polaris mats before he was invited to compete in the welterweight title at Polaris 23, and he grabbed that opportunity with both hands. He secured an ankle-lock and submitted Jed Hue in just 21 seconds, guaranteeing his place in the history books in the process. This will be his first title-defense after winning the vacant belt and he will be facing one of the most unique challenges on the planet. Australian grappler Levi Jones-Leary is the man stepping in as the challenger in what is only his second appearance at Polaris. He competed in the welterweight grand prix at Polaris 27 and although he didn't win the tournament, he made it all the way to the final and gave a great account of himself in the process. He has some of the best back-takes on the planet and they were on full display then, shortly before he used them to win ADCC Trials. Jones-Leary will now ride that momentum into his title-fight with Szczecinski and the stylistic clash between...

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Polaris 28 is scheduled for 15th June, 2024 in the Doncaster Dome, and the main event is a battle between two fantastic standing grapplers. UK fan-favorite Owen Livesey has become a permanent fixture on the Polaris mats, competing in multiple superfights and two grand prix tournaments over the last few years. As a Commonwealth Games gold medalist in Judo and a Catch Wrestling world champion, Livesey has some of the best standing grappling in the BJJ world. He's been able to use those skills to great success in the past, most notably when he beat Chris Weidman by decision in the main event of Polaris 23. Livesey will be facing another UFC veteran with deep wrestling background at Polaris 28, as he will be sharing the mats with Yoel Romero. Although Romero has reached a very high level as an MMA fighter with multiple title-fights across both the UFC and Bellator, he was an elite wrestler long before that. Romero stood on the podium of the freestyle wrestling world championships multiple times, but his crowning achievements are a gold medal from that event and a silver medal at the 2000 Olympic Games. Neither man will be content to play from...

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The lineup for Polaris 27 has now been finalized after a few minor changes and the last preliminary card matchups have been booked. The final two preliminary matches will feature some top prospects from around the UK, including a battle between two exciting Welsh grapplers in Tom Tovey and Finn Carey. Kane Darcy is another young competitor who will be eager to make an impression as he faces Polaris veteran Tassanai Soniak. Two changes have also taken place on the preliminary card as Max Armstrong and Kristie Raby have both stepped in on short notice to compete against Will Nicholls and Robyn Lucas respectively. Two more competitors have stepped in on short notice in the Polaris 27 superfights too, with one of them getting the opportunity to compete for the vacant featherweight title. ADCC Trials silver medalist Cammy Donnelly has will replace Owen Jones in the title-fight against Keith Krikorian, as he looks to make a big statement with a win over a top competitor. In the other superfight, top-ranked UFC featherweight Alex Caceres has replaced Mason Jones in the match against fellow UFC veteran Nathaniel Wood. There's a new face in the welterweight grand prix too, as Max Hanson...

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All 8 spots in the welterweight grand prix at Polaris 27 have now been filled as the final invite has been handed out and the Contenders tournament has come to an end. Harrison Woods managed to emerge victorious in the Contenders tournament, despite facing a field of incredibly tough competitors like Julian Espinosa and Ollie Webb. It was a dominant performance from start to finish for Woods and not only did he earn the opportunity to compete for the $20,000 grand prize but he also made a statement in doing so. Woods might not be as established as the other 7 men in the bracket, but his qualifying performance demonstrated that he's more than capable of taking home the title. The final invite was given to Luiz Paulo, who is coming in fresh off a fantastic performance at the ADCC South American Trials that saw him win gold in the under 77kg division. Paulo is no stranger to the Polaris stage either though, as he was a member of the no gi Brazilian team that won Polaris Squads 4. He registered 4 draws at that event, going toe-to-toe with two top American competitors in Jon 'Thor' Blank and Nathan Orchard.

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The welterweight grand prix at Polaris 27 is now three-quarters of the way full, as the next two competitors have joined the lineup. First up is one of the top 10th Planet representatives around right now, PJ Barch. Not only is Barch an ADCC veteran, but he also holds wins over some of the best grapplers in the division like JT Torres and Dante Leon. Barch has been a fantastic competitor for several years now but he had his breakthrough performance at ADCC 2022, where he managed to finish in fourth place in one of the most stacked 77kg divisions the promotion has ever seen. The next entrant to the Polaris welterweight grand prix is top New Wave Jiu-Jitsu prospect Davis Asare, who recently broke through to the highest level of competition with an incredible performance at ADCC European Trials. Asare took silver in the 77kg division by beating both Oliver Taza and the Polaris welterweight champion Mateusz Szczecinski. It was a fantastic performance that Asare will be looking to build off by beating some of the huge names competing at Polaris 27.

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