guard directly into a slick D'Arce choke against a very tough wrestler (dressed in a blue singlet), which forced the tapout at about one minute into the match. Holdsworth would later win the finals match via triangle choke. My second highlight came from Mark "Bombs Away" Bieri (not to be confused with his older brother Scott "Maverick" Bieri). In the finals of the Advanced Men's 169-pound division, Mark hit a lightning fast Marcelinho-esque arm drag to take the back of his very strong, rough n' tumble opponent. From there, Mark sunk both hooks and forced the tapout via RNC, also at around one minute into the match.

The female side of the sport was also well represented, as America's two most highly decorated female black-belts Felicia Oh and Gazzy Parman were on hand to assist with officiating and administrative duties. It should also be noted that Felicia Oh (a.k.a. FLO) was one of the grapplers in attendance that was heavily scouted by the NBC executives that were in attendance scouting for potential cast members and contestants for the reincarnation of its hit show "American Gladiators", which will air in 2008. Along with Oh and Parman, was MMA star Tonya Evinger, who was fresh off her debut in the EliteXC on Showtime against Gina Carano. Some had hoped to see her rematch her friend and rival Gina Carano (who trains jiu-jitsu with Scott Bieri) under Submission Grappling rules. However, due to prior commitments, Gina wasn't able to make it. This left the door open for an equally intriguing match-up. Tonya, who is a wrestler by trade and has recently taken up jiu-jitsu in southern California under Ryan Gregg, was still willing to compete after Gina couldn't make it. That is when I got the idea to ask fitness supermodel Priscilla Tuft ( www.priscillatuft.com ), who I had met earlier that day, if she wanted a Superfight with Tonya. Priscilla had mentioned that she had trained in Submission Grappling for four years and thought it was great that we were at Mr. Olympia representing the sport in front of such a huge crowd of people. So when I asked her if she wanted to grapple Tonya, she happily agreed to it, even with her busy schedule making appearances throughout Mr. Olympia. That set up the match of the day or at least the most carefully watched match of the day by the men in attendance, between Tonya Evinger and Priscilla Tuft!


Tonya Evinger vs. Priscilla Tuft

The second Superfight of the day began with two very contrasting styles and competitors. On one side, we had MMA veteran Tonya Evinger, adorned in her OTM fight shorts and rash guard with her hair cropped up just as she does when she goes to war in a cage. On the other side of the mat, we had the epitome of a girly girl in Pricilla Tuft, who to the approval of the many men in attendance, literally pranced out onto the mat with nothing more than a spandex sports bra with matching spandex short shorts! She was all too giggly and excited about the ensuing match, but at the same time seemed confident, which made many wonder if she had an ace up her sleeve in the realm of some serious Submission Grappling skills. Tonya, who most felt would toy with Priscilla in the form of a friendly grappling demonstration, took no chances and immediately took Priscilla to the mat with a textbook lateral drop! Priscilla quickly tried to reestablish her guard, which looked like it would be tough due to her fitness modeling physique and long legs. However, that was never really allowed to be tested, as Tonya quickly jumped through Pricilla's guard and into side control. After gaining the points, she secured a mount to the resounding cheers of the ogling men in attendance, as Priscilla tried to wiggle her way out of danger. Just as people thought Tonya would let up and give Priscilla a chance to display some of her obvious athleticism, Tonya mounted a triangle and fell to the side to tighten the choke. Priscilla fought it off valiantly for about 10 seconds, but soon submitted to the triangle choke at around 3:30 into the match. The girls then showed us all something that we don't really see that often after men's matches. As Priscilla raised Tonya's arm in victory after the official result was announced, she then jumped into Tonya's open arms, and shared a long, warm embrace with Tonya. That is when I thought to myself, wow… what a great show of sportsmanship! ;~)

All together the World Grappling Games did a great job in promoting and organizing this event along with the support of its event sponsor On The Mat. OTM and WGG's first annual "Quest for the Best" at Mr. Olympia, not only gave the sport of Submission Grappling further exposure in the mainstream public's collective eyes, but it also gave the sport of Submission Grappling credibility in the eyes of some of the countries most athletic and health conscious individuals. As one of the only athletic competitions in the venue, unlike the many athletic competitions present at a number of other health expos across the country, Submission Grappling was on display as the way of the future in the minds of the many fans that attended. Furthermore, the great number of UFC fighters, WWE wrestlers, body building champions, fitness models, NBC "American Gladiator" scouts, and celebrities alike, that watched Simpson Go vs. Sonny Nohara, Tonya Evinger vs. Priscilla Tuft, and the large number of other grappling superstars battle it out on the mat, paid credence to the fact that the sports of Jiu-Jitsu and Submission Grappling are well on their way to gaining mainstream global acceptance, and for that, everyone that made the trip, supported, competed, and helped run this tournament on Saturday, September 29th should feel truly satisfied!