In partnership with
FIRST THINGS FIRST
Welcome to Open Note Grappling.
Every Tuesday morning I send out a breakdown of the best combat sports action. In less than 10 minutes you'll learn how the top fighters win and anything else fighters, martial artists, and fight fans need to know.
FloGrappling is hosting an old school open weight jiujitsu tournament. Today we’re going to look at the favorites and the last minute entry.
Before we get started I want to shout out this week’s sponsor beehiiv!
I use beehiiv to write this newsletter. It’s the easiest tool I’ve found to write online and they have every tool you could ever want built-in. Premium subscriptions, multiple an ad networks, and they don’t take any of your premium subscriber revenue.
Beehiiv is hosting a virtual event about the future of writing and creating content online. If you’ve ever wanted to make stuff online, you have to click here (or the image below) to register for the event.
The Game is Changing
The internet was supposed to make it easier to build and connect. Somewhere along the way, we lost the plot.
beehiiv is changing that once and for all.
On November 13, they’re unveiling what’s next at their first-ever Winter Release Event. For the people shaping the future of content, community, and media, this is an event you can’t miss.
Now let’s get into it.
What's In Today's Letter?
Open weight tournaments are the coolest part about martial arts. It’s where we test the legendary techniques, build athletes’ lore, and see what actually works.
The UFC was built on open weight tournaments. Royce Gracie captured the hearts and minds of the entire fighting world by proving you can win fights as a smaller man with the right technique. But he was just following in line of the tradition of his family. The Gracie clan built a brand by offering all takers cold hard cash if they could stop Gracie jiujitsu.
You against me. Who prepared more? Who’s trickier? Who needs to win?
WNO 30 is going back to the roots of martial arts legends by hosting an open weight tournament this Friday. This is what you need to watch for.
WNO 30 OPEN WEIGHT TOURNAMENT:
My Two Favorites To Win
The favorite to win this tournament has to be WNO’s open weight tournament is Australian star Declan Moody.
Moody has been splitting time between Australia and Austin to train with the B Team. He’s even dropped in at my gym a handful of times.
I’ve only had the misfortune of rolling with him once. It was terrible. Rolling with him was like struggling against animatronic concrete. I could hardly move, let alone get anything going on him when he was on top.
Moody has been on a tear recently. After some of CJI 2’s most exciting matches he went on to win ADCC’s European Trials thanks to his heavy passing and rear naked chokes.
Moody stands out of Marcin’s guard to throw his legs by. Marcin turtles to prevent the pass. Moody’s right arm is snaked under Marcin’s arm and behind his neck for a half Nelson. Moody circles toward his half Nelson before forward to rolling Marcin’s back. Moody locks a figure four and immediately attacks the rear naked choke to win.
Declan Moody - Marcin Maciulewicz
Now for a confession.
I wrote this article before it was announced Roberto Jimenez was injured and Ryan Aitken would be taking his place. Much of the article was about Jimenez, my other favorite to win the tournament, and his match with Moody earlier this year at the Austin Open. That match was largely decided by two key exchanges.
After denying much of Jimenez’s hand fighting on the feet, Moody paired an arm drag with a foot block and rolling back take to get on Roberto’s back.
Moody arm drags Jimenez and blocks his feet with his right leg to get to his back. Then Moody grabs a seat belt and forward rolls. Jimenez stops Moody from putting his hooks in so Moody takes a crucifix. Jimenez walks up so his shoulders can move. Then he turns to Moody’s legs, limp arms out, and takes top position.
Roberto Jimenez - Declan Moody
Unfortunately for Moody, after scrambling out of back control Jimenez was able to secure his own back take.
Jimenez has passed to mount. He is walking Moody’s arm up above Moody’s head for an arm triangle. Moody turns. Jimenez locks his hands and chair sits to take Moody’s back. As they roll over, Moody submits to a Ruotolinetine.
Roberto Jimenez - Declan Moody
The Ruotoline is a tricky submission named after the twins Kade and Tye Ruotolo after they both hit the submission in the same night. It’s essentially an arm triangle off the back, or an arm in rear naked choke with your hands locked next to your opponent’s neck.
But Jimenez is out. That means we won’t be seeing an rematch of him and Moody. Instead, we might get a rematch of Moody and Aitken, but I can’t see the match going much differently.
Aitken sits to attack Moody’s legs. He responds with a wedging back take attempt. Moody doesn’t get the back but he takes top. He steps away from Aitken before dropping to his knees and taking an under hook to stop Aitken’s leg locks. Moody slides around Aitken, stands, and then gets to north south.
Declan Moody - Ryan Aitken
Even when Aitken got to his spots he wasn’t able to get any real offense going on Moody.
Aitken pulls Moody on top of him to hit a sumi gaeshi and take side control. Moody gets to half guard so Aitken throws his leg over Moody’s high leg for a leg lock. Moody stands, gets a grip on Aitken’s trap, and pulls his leg out. Then Moody steps to his right before hopping to his left over Aitken’s leg to pass.
Declan Moody - Ryan Aitken
With Roberto Jimenez dropping out of this tournament you have to think Moody is a serious favorite to win the whole thing.
THE DARK HORSE:
One Of The Event’s Smallest Has A Shot To Surprise Everyone
A competitor everyone should be watching is Canadian stud Dante Leon.
Leon has won the IBJJF No Gi World Championships twice and taken 3rd place at the ADCC World Championships twice. But he usually competes around -77KG. That means he’ll be one of the smaller men during WNO’s open weight tournament. Still, Leon is known for his freakish strength and he has no problem competing at heavyweight. He even competed at 92KG at the recent IBJJF Pan American Jiujitsu Championships.
But I’m not picking Leon because of his horse power. He has the veteran craft to pull out sneaky submissions when everyone least expects them.
Galvao is trying to pass Leon’s knee shield. Galvao Rau drags and slides over Leon’s legs to for a guillotine. Then he sits back. Leon inverts and collects Galvao’s ankle in his arm pit. Galvao rolls. If this was a heel hook he may have slid out. Because Leon is holding Galvao’s ankle, his foot gets stuck and Leon finished the straight ankle lock.
Dante Leon - Mica Galvao
Galvao had already won his weight class during that ADCC World Championships. That’s on top of taking the title at the IBJJF Brazilian Nationals, Pan American Championships, European Championships, and World Championships. I mean, it was literally the only time Galvao lost that year and it’s only the second time he has ever been submitted in competition. The fact that Leon interrupted Galvao’s all time run means he could shock anyone this Friday.
THE LAST MINUTE ENTRY:
A Newcomer Is Looking To Break More Legs On Friday
This weekend Pittsburgh hosted a one night tournament to win entry to WNO 30’s open weight tournament. Former Brown Belt No Gi World Champion Justin Michael won the whole event.
Michael trains at 10th Planet Jiu-Jitsu Masury in Ohio. In this tournament run he showed a clear affinity for leg locking.
Michael is playing on his back. Hall is trying to loose pass. Michael holds Hall’s right leg and throws his left leg in front of it to enter the false reap. He rolls onto his right shoulder and locks a figure four on Hall’s leg. They roll. Usually the false reap sets up heel hooks but Michael stays on the ankle to attack and finish a Woj lock.
Justin Michael - Jeric Fry
We’re getting a bit in the weeds here but this is submission is really, really slick.
Turning and rolling is a tried and true way to get out of heel hooks because it allows you to slip your heel and escape. Everyone in professional grappling knows this so more experienced leg lockers are now switching to attack ankle locks first before heel hooks because turning does not free the leg. This is exactly why Dante Leon was able to beat Mica Galvao in the clip above.
In his second match, Michael showed he can threaten one side to elicit reactions that give him attacks on the other side.
Michael is playing on his side, probing with his left leg. It looks like he’s trying to enter the false reap. Hall is denying it by pushing on Michael’s face and right leg. Michael scoots under Hall’s frames to scoop his far leg. Then he inverts and attacks the knee bar. Hall quickly taps.
Justin Michael - Tanner Hall
Michael’s finals match was much closer. He went back to his leg locking guard play but his opponent Gerry Rayburn was quick to respond to his attacks.
Rayburn throws Michael’s legs by to pass. Michael under hooks Rayburn’s right arm and throws his own legs over Rayburn’s left shoulder to attack a triangle. Rayburn turns away. Michael switches to aMi reverse arm bar, omoplata, and then Rayburn walks over his head to attack Michael’s legs. Michael attempts to counter by crab riding before they stall out.
Justin Michael - Gerry Rayburn
Attacking low to score high is a classic grappling strategy. If I threaten your legs, usually you’ll drop your level so I can’t easily access your legs. But this opens you up for arm bars, triangles, and other high guard attacks.
Later in the match, Rayburn decided to give Michael a taste of his own medicine.
Rayburn reaches for Michael’s feet to attack a toe hold. Michael scoops the near leg. Rayburns rolls to rip Michael’s ankle. Michael frees his foot and begins cranking his own toe hold. Rayburn sits up to defend. Michael switches to a knee bar. Rayburn uses his secondary leg to kick out. Both reach for two more leg locks before separating.
Justin Michael - Gerry Rayburn
Generally when you attack a leg lock you want to make your opponent sit to their butt and control both legs. If you don’t, your opponent can use the leg you’re not trying to break to move and escape. The clip above, combined with Michael’s match with Tanner Hall, show Michael doesn’t always control both legs when leg locking, and might highlight a slight tactical error.
Near the end of the finals, Michael went back to the high - low combo. He used a high guard attack to force Rayburn to respond so he could enter the legs.
Rayburn is trying to stack Michael. Michael pulls Rayburn’s left arm in and throws up a trap triangle. Rayburn pulls out. Michael attacks the reverse arm bar. Rayburn puts one knee up. Michael throws his left leg over Rayburn’s thigh to enter the back side. Rayburn pushes down on Michaels feet and backs his hips up to defend.
Justin Michael - Gerry Rayburn
Ultimately there was no submission and the judges decided they would need an additional 2 minute over time period. There, Michael went against his usual strategy to claim the match.
Michael is trying to pass with something close to over under. Rayburn is trying to pull Michael in for a triangle choke. Michael shrugs his leg off as he stands but holds the near thigh and far shoulder. This allows him to scoot to side control and win the overtime period.
Justin Michael - Gerry Rayburn
I’m not sure how far Michael will go in this event. But neither his late addition nor the other names are the reason I’m so excited for the tournament.
FloGrappling putting on this open weight event means they are trying new types of events to differentiate themselves from UFC BJJ. I hope the event gets the attention it deserves so more athletes, and fans, see more grappling events as viable alternatives to UFC BJJ.
Professional Grappling doesn’t have enough money, nor interest, for the monopoly the UFC is trying to create. We need more promotions to stick around so the money keeps going up and the sport can grow before the UFC just captures the whole thing.
HELP DESK UPDATES:
Back Attacks, Leg Locks, And Relevant Submissions To Study
We went pretty deep in the weeds on Brazilian jiu-jitsu techniques today. There are a few sections on the Help Desk that I recently updated that you might be interested in.
We have a full (and ever growing) guide on taking the back that heavily features Roberto Jimenez.
If you want to study specific submissions like Ruotolotines, Tackettines, and more there is a section dedicated to submissions.
There is also a guide on leg locking and the positions you need to know.
If you want to read all of this and more click here to upgrade your subscription and access the the Help Desk. The Help Desk comes with:
A library of technique gifs and explanations
Analysis of classic fights with high level grappling
Regularly updated articles on techniques, athletes, and principles of fighting
The Help Desk is quickly growing into the clearest and most comprehensive way to study grappling and how it works in fighting. The best part is it’s only $5 per month.
Subscribing to the Help Desk is the best way to support my work. If you’ve enjoyed reading my work, click here to upgrade your subscription so I can keep it going.
LINKS, INSTRUCTIONALS, AND MORE MATCHES TO STUDY:
What Are We Talking About Today?
You can watch Declan Moody’s ADCC Trials run here. And here is Moody’s match with Ryan Aitken from CJI 2.
FloGrappling’s full qualifying tournament is here free on Youtube as well.
THE MOST IMPORTANT NEWS (you might have missed)
Legendary MMA coach and kickboxer Duke Roufus passed away this weekend. If you’re new to combat sports, Roufus trained Ben Askren, Tyron Woodley, Ben Rothwell, and, most notably, the Pettis brothers. Sad day in MMA.
California voted 6-0 to endorse Muhammad Ali American Boxing Revival Act. This means promoters are able to promote fights for titles and rankings which they control. Basically this allows boxing to be run like how the UFC is. As for what comes next, we’ll have to wait and see.
The only potential silver lining for athletes seems to be California’s Athletic Commissioner Chris Gruwell has floated the idea for state-sanctioned price caps on sanctioning body fees and title belt prices. As my friend Zach Arnold at The MMA Draw says:
If California can significantly institute price controls on sanctioning bodies like the WBC, it would dramatically change the business model as currently constituted.
An optimist might say that this policy change would create significant competition.
A pessimist might surmise that price controls could convert sanctioning bodies into distressed assets that might be bought out by someone like Turki Alalshikh.
California implementing financial caps on sanctioning bodies — through new legislation, coercion, or sheer regulatory power — would change boxing politics overnight.
We’ll have to wait and see which promoters and boxers stick around to fight the fight for independence.
Thanks for reading today. If you enjoyed this piece and want to read more about the top techniques, principles, and stories from the world of fighting upgrade to the Help Desk! The Help Desk has:
Detailed analysis of specific techniques, athletes, and themes
A searchable technique library with gifs and explanations
New content added every week
Accessing the Open Note Grappling Help Desk only costs $5 per month and it’s the best way to support my work. You can even try a week for free if you click here.
