Polaris News

Team Brazil is now complete as Isaque Bahiense and Marcelo Fausto join their teammates in representing their country at Polaris 20. Bahiense is one of the more experienced competitors to join Team Brazil, and he will be weighing in at under 95kg. He's a black belt under the legendary Fabio Gurgel and he owns several impressive wins over elite competitors like Davi Ramos, JT Torres and Lucas 'Hulk' Barbosa. Bahiense reached the highest point of his career in 2018 when he won an IBJJF world championship but was most recently seen emerging victorious at the ADCC South American trials. Fausto represents the opposite end of the scale as the young competitor has only been a black belt for a little over a year. He won several major IBJJF tournaments during his journey through the coloured belt divisions and is looking like one of the most promising young prospects from Brazil. He hasn't managed to compete much at black belt yet, but already owns a win over Polaris triple champion Ashley Williams from earlier this year.

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With Team USA already completed, Team Brazil is nearing it's conclusion too with two more athletes announced for the country at Polaris 20. Diogo Reis will be representing his home country at 75kg as the ADCC trials winner looks to make his Polaris debut. At just 20 years old, Reis is one of the most exciting young Brazilian competitors around right now and is part of a team of elite young grapplers training under Melqui Galvao at Dream Art. Reis has only been a black belt for a little under 18 months but has plenty of experience on big stages as a multiple-time IBJJF world champion at the lower belt levels. Joining the 95kg group is Kywan Gracie, a member of the world's most famous Jiu-Jitsu family and black belt under the legendary Roger Gracie. Kywan has been grappling for as long as he can remember and as the son of Marcelo Behring, has had plenty of elite-level instruction since the beginning. Both of these competitors will be eager to help Team Brazil take the title from Team USA on June 25th.

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Team USA has now been finalised for Polaris 20 as both the under 75kg and 95kg groups have gained one more member. Nick Ronan is the final 75kg member of Team USA and as a winner of Polaris Contenders, he has plenty of experience with the promotion. Ronan is a BJJ black belt under UFC Hall of Famer Matt Serra and has been an impressive young talent, with plenty of room for improvement in the future at just 26 years old. The final 95kg member of Team USA is Hunter Colvin, who will be returning from three fantastic matches at the last Polaris Squads event. Colvin is a professional MMA fighter who is a veteran of the Combat Jiu Jitsu world championships and recently won a silver medal at the ADCC North American West Coast Trials. Both of these men will make fine additions to an already-impressive Team USA, as they attempt to defend their title against Team Brazil at Polaris 20.

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Both Team USA and Team Brazil have gained another athlete for the fourth Polaris Squads event as Nathan Orchard and Fabricio Andrey will now be representing their respective countries. Nathan Orchard will now be the fifth Tenth Planet member to join Team USA as he returns from a fantastic performance at the third Polaris Squads event. Orchard is a veteran of the Combat Jiu Jitsu world championships and holds a 2-0 professional MMA record, employing a brutally effective style of grappling that includes his signature submission; The Dead Orchard. He will no doubt be a welcome addition to Team USA as he looks to repeat his last performance and register at least one more submission win for his country. Joining Team Brazil is Fabricio Andrey, one of Melqui Galvao's young prodigies who has risen to the top of the sport incredibly quickly. He won the IBJJF world championships several times during his journey through the coloured belts before winning it at black belt on his first attempt in 2021. Andrey has wasted not just a gi competitor though as he also earned a bronze medal at this year's first South American ADCC trials before earning gold in the second edition...

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Team USA is now over half-full ahead of Polaris 20 as both Geo Martinez and Mason Fowler join the team of elite American competitors. Martinez is returning from the last Polaris Squads event where he impressed in four different matches, three ending in a draw and one he won by way of injury to his opponent Dan Strauss. Martinez is a three-time EBI Invitational winner and he is actually the fourth 10th Planet representative to join the team after Keith Krikorian, Jon 'Thor' Blank, and his older brother Richie 'Boogieman' Martinez. He will be joined by Polaris debutante Mason Fowler. Fowler is a student of Caio Terra and has quickly established himself as one of the top competitors of his generation after defeating Craig Jones twice in order to become Submission Underground absolute champion. Fowler is also a two-time ADCC trials winner, getting submitted by Jones in his first appearance at ADCC 2019 and no doubt eager to get back on the mats against his old foe in 2022.

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Team USA and Team Brazil now have their first athletes competing at under 75kg, with one representing each nation. Stepping in for Brazil is Fabricio Andrey, who will be joining his teammate Mica Galvao in the squad. Andrey is the reigning IBJJF world champion at 70kg and the 22 year-old has been dominating elite competition since he was promoted to black belt at the end of 2020. Andrey has already got off to a fantastic start this year as he managed to reach the podium on his first attempt at ADCC trials, only to do even better on his second attempt and winning gold. The USA will also be keeping the event as a close-knit affair as another Tenth Planet representative joins them at under 75kg, Keith Krikorian. He has also been a force to be reckoned with at ADCC trials over the years, as Krikorian narrowly missed out on a place at ADCC 2019 when he finished with a pair of silver medals from both North American trials. After another silver medal in the 2021 East Coast trials, Krikorian finally managed to clear the final hurdle earlier this year with a gold medal at the West Coast edition.

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The teams representing Brazil and USA at Polaris 20 are slowly growing, and both have now got one more athlete competing in the under 95kg section of their respective teams. First up is ADCC veteran Jon 'Thor' Blank who will be joining USA team captain and fellow Tenth Planet competitor Richie 'Boogieman' Martinez. Blank impressed at ADCC 2019 when he narrowly missed out on a podium position after losing to Craig Jones in the semi-final and being edged out on points by Josh Hinger in the battle for bronze. He has already flown the American flag on the Polaris mats once before, coming up against Dan Strauss twice at the third Polaris Squads event and drawing both times against him. Opposite Blank on Team Brazil is the young Mica Galvao, who will be making his Polaris debut at the event. The exciting eighteen year-old has been a phenomenon over the past few years and his rise to the top has been virtually unstoppable. He is no stranger to elite competition despite his age and already owns victories over the likes of Oliver Taza, Espen Mathiesen, and Dante Leon. His crowning achievement has come just recently as he managed to submit...

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The first competitor for Team Brazil has just been announced as they make their debut in the Polaris Squads format against the reigning no gi champions, Team USA. Weighing in at under 95kg, Igor Tanabe will be returning to the Polaris mats after he made a successful debut at Polaris 18. He took on Tommy Langaker in a tough matchup but managed to register an impressive finish by locking up a choke after taking his back. Tanabe has won several major IBJJF tournaments at the coloured belt levels throughout the years and his crowning achievement came in 2018 when he won both the gi and no gi world championship at purple belt. He was eventually promoted to black belt in May 2020 and has struggled to compete frequently at the highest level since then due to restrictions in place to combat the pandemic. He has managed to stay somewhat active locally though and has still won nineteen straight matches at black belt without a single loss. Tanabe might have less competitive experience at this level than some of his opponents, but he's been one to watch for quite some time and he'll be eager to make a statement at Polaris...

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Team USA will be returning to defend their no gi title against promotional newcomers Team Brazil at the fourth Polaris Squads event, and they will be led by the same man who led them to victory against the UK at the last squads event. The latest edition of Polaris Squads will take place on June 25th at Polaris 20 and Richie 'Boogieman' Martinez will be returning alongside seven other elite American competitors. He is one of Tenth Planet's top competitors alongside his brother Geo Martinez and he's a veteran of elite Jiu-Jitsu competition for a wide variety of different promotions. He has managed to register three draws during his time serving as captain for Team USA and he'll no doubt be eager to improve upon that record when he leads his fellow countrymen into battle against Team Brazil.

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The main event for Polaris 19 is finally in the books! It will feature two of the most exciting grapplers on the planet who's styles should make for a fast-paced and wild matchup. Roberto Jimenez is a black belt under his father, Raul, who lives and trains in the United States. The young star has already taken some impressive scalps since receiving his final belt promotion, most notably Keenan Cornelius. It isn't as though that's the only big name on Jimenez's resume though as he has also managed to submit Fellipe Andrew, Pedro Marinho, Nathan Orchard, and Kade Ruotolo in the past. While Jimenez technically has three draws and a win on the Polaris stage, they all came at Polaris Squads 3 and he was one of the most exciting members of the victorious Team USA. Jimenez will be coming up against Magid Hage IV, who is perhaps best known for having one of the best baseball bat chokes in the sport. As this will be a no gi match, it's incredibly unlikely he's able to utilize his most-feared weapon but Hage is still an elite grappler regardless. He's been working hard recently to qualify for ADCC 2022 and has...

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