There is a new Grappling organization set to debut in the United States in 2007 with a familiar name. There is a new Grappling organization set to debut in the United States in 2007 with a familiar name. Tournament promoter Andrew “JudoGoat” Smith explains: “I’m pleased to announce that our tournament circuit will go by the name “US Grappling” beginning in 2007. As many of you may remember, there was a tournament circuit run several years ago called “US Grappling.” One of the key promoters and coordinators of this tournament was Joe Priole. Joe passed away on September 21st, 2005 of non-Hodgkins lymphoma (read more about Joe’s story here). Joe was a great grappler and a friend to many in the jiu jitsu community. In memory of Joe’s contributions to the jiu jitsu tournament scene, US Grappling will donate a portion of its proceeds from our inaugural event February 17th, 2007 in Milwaukee, WI to the Make A Wish foundation (where Joe wanted all donations sent). Mike Moses and I will still run and promote the shows (along with the support of our incredible team- clinzy, Brain, and countless others). We’ll still be doing a lot of events in conjunction with MMA/Muay Thai night shows (like the Combat Sports Challenge in Richmond, the WKA North American Championships in Hampton, and Duke Roufus’s kickboxing and MMA show in Milwaukee). We’ll also run grappling events that aren’t in conjunction with night fights. We will keep you up to date at www.USGrappling.US. Right now this URL will re-direct to this thread, but our site will be live later this week. Thanks to everyone for your support. I’m looking forward to a great year in 2007!” That being said, Andrew, Mike and crew have put on several events already. Although invited to several the first one I was able to personally attend was the East Coast Grappling Championships, held in Andrew’s home base of Richmond Virginia. I was immediately impressed by both the turnout and organization of the event. Check, that, when I arrived at the venue I had just got off the plane from a red eye from California where it was at least twenty to thirty degrees warmer. I really didn’t even know my own name by the time I got to the venue, much less how the tournament was going. Lucky for me Joe “Joemoplata” Cunningham was there with BadAss Coffee (http://novabadasscoffee.com/) to perk me up. A cup of their strongest stuff and I managed to shoot four and a half hours worth of footage! Properly caffeinated I was able to properly devote my attention to the tournament. In one day there were both gi and no gi divisions for kids, men and a surprisingly large turnout of women. There were also three main attractions of the day. A four woman pro division sponsored by the aforementioned BadAss Coffee, a four man featherweight brown belt division sponsored by www.NHBGear.com and an internet challenge superfight between Greg “Stepup” Souders and Marcel “Letmbleed” Gonzalez. In the first match of the women’s division, Marissa Talley worked from the bottom to catch Amie Turton by armbar a little over two minutes in. Jen Petrina and Maria Navarro then had a hard fought battle which saw Petrina win by points. This set up a final between Marissa Talley and Jen Patrina, which Marissa won via rear naked choke in about three minutes in. Marissa had been a very active competitor but had recently taken some time off, she looked no worse for the layoff and was very impressive this weekend. The brown belt division began with a match between two of Virginia’s own in Eric Burdo vs Chris Hayes. In my opinion this was the best match of the day with a lot of back and forth action and excellent displays of techniques, neither competitors was quite able to put away the other however and Hayes won on points. On the other side of the bracket Salvatore Sanguinetti looked extremely impressive against Jeff Jacobs, passing the guard numerous times. Jacobs, to his credit kept his composure and fought through to the very end. A third place match was to be redemption for one of the first round outs, and in this round Burdo really shined as he executed a beautifully set up armlock from mount to finish Jacobs. This left us with Hayes vs Sanguinetti and once again Sanguinetti displays a very dominant pass to score the win on points. Hayes had his moments in the match as well, but Sanguinetti was simply relentless on his way to the championship. The superfight event were rounded out by the “internet challenge” match between Greg “Stepup” Souders and Marcel “Letmbleed” Gonzalez. I honestly have no idea what started this (probably a thread on the www.jiujitsugear.com forum. The match remained on the feet for over four minutes until LetmBleed executed a beautiful scissor type takedown. Stepup got back to the feet quickly however and tried for a flying triangle, which Letmbleed defended. Letmbleed then went for a leglock, which he missed and Stepup was able to come on top where he looked to get a Darce choke for the remaining four minutes of the match to. Winner is Greg Stepup Souders Whatever the circumstances were that setup this challenge match, both competitors were amicable afterwards, as you often get with tough matches in equally skilled opponents. Overall the East Coast Grappling Championships was marked by good organization, fun, and an enthusiastic staff. As a bonus, it was run in conjunction with a MMA/kickboxing event which attendees could see for free, however a long day of grappling action I did not stick around to cover the second event. Looking forward to see what the reborn US Grappling organization has in store for the future! East Coast Grappling Championships Full Results Superfight/Pro Featherweight Men’s Brown Belt (Sponsored by NOVA Bad Ass Coffee) 1. Salvatore Sanguinetti (Yamasaki Jiu-Jitsu) 2. Dennis Hayes (Pedro Sauer) 3. Eric Burdo (BJJ Revolution Team) Superfight/Pro Lightweight Women’s No Gi (sponsored by NHB Gear) 1. Marissa Talley (Pedro Sauer/World Class Martial Arts) 2. Jen Petrina (Maxercise) Internet Challenge Superfight (sponsored by U.S. Grappling) 1. Greg (StepUp) Souders (Lloyd Irvin Martial Arts Academy) 2. Marcel (Letmbleed) Gonzalez (One Dragon) White Belt Middleweight 1. Michael Reilly (Capital Jiu-Jitsu) 2. Joe Killo (Lloyd Irvin Martial Arts Academy) 3. Tony Wayne (Yamasaki Jiu-Jitsu) White Belt Flyweight 1. Rick Mateo (Global) 2. Paul Ambriz (Baltimore BJJ) 3. Vincent Nguyen (Maguilla BJJ) White Belt Featherweight 1. Victor Blanchard (BJJ Revolution Team) 2. Kamran Wahidi (Capital Jiu-Jitsu) 3. Pedro Vasconcelos (Lloyd Irvin Martial Arts Academy) White Belt Lightweight 1. Tommy Yun (BJJ Revolution Team) 2. Dmitry Bocharnikov (Yamasaki Jiu-Jitsu) 3. Joseph Murphy (Yamasaki Jiu-Jitsu) White Belt Welterweight 1. Matt Wahlstrom (Yamasaki Jiu-Jitsu) 2. Angelico Obedoza (Lloyd Irvin Martial Arts Academy) 3. Matt Harbison (Lloyd Irvin Martial Arts Academy) White Belt Cruiserweight 1. Justin Lough (Yamasaki Jiu-Jitsu) 2. Michael Florey (Lloyd Irvin Martial Arts Academy) 3. Marco Rodriguez (Lloyd Irvin Martial Arts Academy) White Belt Light Heavyweight 1. Ismael Reyes (Lloyd Irvin Martial Arts Academy) 2. Patrick Corey Hoppe (Lloyd Irvin Martial Arts Academy) 3. Stephen Sanatore (Lloyd Irvin Martial Arts Academy) White Belt Heavyweight 1. Dethrell Garcia (One Spirit Martial Arts) 2. Charles Brown (BJJ Institute) 3. Brian Sarjeant (Lloyd Irvin Martial Arts Academy) White Belt Super Heavyweight 1. Tyson Poage (Capital Jiu-Jitsu) 2. Elder Ramos (Capital Jiu-Jitsu) 3. Ben Anderson (Yamasaki Jiu-Jitsu) White Belt Open 1. Michael Florey (Lloyd Irvin Martial Arts Academy) 2. Dethrell Garcia (One Spirit Martial Arts) 3. Ben Anderson (Yamasaki Jiu-Jitsu) Purple Belt Lightweight 1. Adrian Rumingan (Yamasaki Jiu-Jitsu) 2. Robert Freilich (One Dragon) 3. Duke Koblinsky (Maguilla BJJ) Purple Belt Welterweight 1. Julius Park (Lloyd Irvin Martial Arts Academy) 2. Daniel Ivy (CSC) Purple Belt Cruiserweight 1. George Wehby (Yamasaki Jiu-Jitsu) 2. Dexter Gould (Pedro Sauer) Purple Belt Light Heavyweight 1. Ron Stelling (Lloyd Irvin Martial Arts Academy) 2. Lee Synkowski (Baltimore BJJ) 3. Vin Esposito (Alliance) Purple Belt Open 1. Julius Park (Lloyd Irvin Martial Arts Academy) 2. Wahsei Miran (Eastern Academy) 3. Adrian Rumingan (Yamasaki Jiu-Jitsu) Blue Belt Middleweight 1. Joseph Bauserman (Yamasaki Jiu-Jitsu) 2. Chris Fones (Trident) 3. Chris Jacob (Baltimore BJJ) Blue Belt Flyweight 1. Keith Parknow (Yamasaki Jiu-Jitsu) 2. Kail Bosque (Maguilla BJJ) 3. Steven Lorenz (Eastern Academy) Blue Belt Featherweight 1. Ray Castro (Lloyd Irvin Martial Arts Academy) 2. Breayan Wood (Team Roc) 3. Randy Hart (CSC) Blue Belt Lightweight 1. Aaron Buck (LINXX) 2. Sev Morgiewicz (Hybrid Center Roanoke) 3. Douglas Pereira (World Class Martial Arts) Blue Belt Welterweight 1. Justin Pekera (Maxercise) 2. Marco Morello (Fight Works) 3. Luis Rodrigues (One Spirit Martial Arts) Blue Belt Super Heavyweight 1. Nathan Oyler (Yamasaki Jiu-Jitsu) 2. Salaman Rahman (Lloyd Irvin Martial Arts Academy) 3. David Dinin (Yamasaki Jiu-Jitsu) Blue Belt Open 1. Justin Pekera (Maxercise) 2. Acie Bryant (BJJ Revolution Team) 3. Luis Rodrigues (One Spirit Martial Arts) Adults no-gi Novice Middleweight 1. Johnny Huff (Global) 2. Michael Smith (Kore Combat Fitness) 3. Tony Wayne (Yamasaki Jiu-Jitsu) Novice Flyweight 1. Vincent Nguyen (Maguilla BJJ) 2. Steven Lorenz (Eastern Academy) 3. Paul Ambriz (Baltimore BJJ) Novice Featherweight 1. Kamran Wahidi (Capital Jiu-Jitsu) 2. Ahmed El-Sabbahy (Lloyd Irvin Martial Arts Academy) 3. Jason Gutman (Lloyd Irvin Martial Arts Academy) Novice Lightweight 1. Tanner Crowder (William and Mary BJJ) 2. Israel Gettinger (Baltimore BJJ) 3. Dmitry Bocharnikov (Yamasaki Jiu-Jitsu) Novice Welterweights 1. Sean Frazier (World Class Martial Arts) 2. Matt Wahlstrom (Yamasaki Jiu-Jitsu) 3. Chris Jones (Lloyd Irvin Martial Arts Academy) Novice Cruiserweight 1. Marco Rodriguez (Lloyd Irvin Martial Arts Academy) 2. Bobby Taylor (Maguilla BJJ) 3. Clint McElhiney (Maguilla BJJ) Novice Light Heavyweight 1. Jonathan Shiery (Yamasaki Jiu-Jitsu) 2. Patrick Corey Hoppe (Lloyd Irvin Martial Arts Academy) 3. Stephen Sanatore (Lloyd Irvin Martial Arts Academy) Novice Heavyweight 1. Dethrell Garcia (One Spirit Martial Arts) 2. John Hall (One Spirit Martial Arts) 3. Boris Blatuik (Lloyd Irvin Martial Arts Academy) Novice Super Heavyweight 1. Tyson Poage (Capital Jiu-Jitsu) 2. Elder Ramos (Capital Jiu-Jitsu) 3. Ben Anderson (Yamasaki Jiu-Jitsu) Novice Open 1. Ben Anderson (Yamasaki Jiu-Jitsu) 2. Dmitry Bocharnikov (Yamasaki Jiu-Jitsu) 3. Paul Ambriz (Baltimore BJJ) Intermediate Middleweight 1. Joe Killo (Lloyd Irvin Martial Arts Academy) 2. Gary Nimmo (BJJ Revolution Team) 3. Michael Reilly (Capital Jiu-Jitsu) Intermediate Flyweight 1. Jason Hanfman (Lloyd Irvin Martial Arts Academy) 2. Rick Mateo (Global) 3. Kail Bosque (Maguilla BJJ) Intermediate Featherweight 1. Pedro Vasconcelos (Lloyd Irvin Martial Arts Academy) 2. Breayan Wood (Team Roc) 3. Victor Blanchard (BJJ Revolution Team) Intermediate Lightweight 1. Marshall Thompson (Lloyd Irvin Martial Arts Academy) 2. Tommy Yun (BJJ Revolution Team) 3. Aaron Buck (LINXX) Intermediate Welterweights 1. Luis Rodrigues (One Spirit Martial Arts) 2. Matt Harbison (Lloyd Irvin Martial Arts Academy) 3. Greg Mednikov (Yamasaki Jiu-Jitsu) Intermediate Light Heavyweight 1. Stephen Govan (American Freestyle) 2. Ismael Reyes (Lloyd Irvin Martial Arts Academy) Intermediate Super Heavyweight 1. Nathan Oyler (Yamasaki Jiu-Jitsu) 2. David Dinin (Yamasaki Jiu-Jitsu) 3. Malcolm Neal (Baltimore Martial Arts Academy) Intermediate Open 1. Aaron Buck (LINXX) 2. Luis Rodrigues (One Spirit Martial Arts) 3. Michael Florey (Lloyd Irvin Martial Arts Academy) Advanced Middleweight Advanced Featherweight 1. Robert Freilich (One Dragon) 2. Keith Parknow (Yamasaki Jiu-Jitsu) Advanced Light Heavyweight 1. Ron Stellings (Lloyd Irvin Martial Arts Academy) 2. Lee Synkowski (Baltimore BJJ) 3. Vin Esposito (Alliance) Advanced Heavyweight 1. John Dolida (Hybrid Academy) 2. Fred Ramie (Gracie Barra Boston) Advanced Super Heavyweight 1. Solomon Sands (William and Mary BJJ) 2. Nick Jackson (VCU Judo) Advanced Open 1. John Dolida (Hybrid Center Roanoke) 2. Andy Lugo (Eastern Academy) 3. Amir Sadollah (CSC) Advanced Lightweight 1. Dave Jacobs (Yamasaki Jiu-Jitsu) 2. Pedro Sanchez (Modern American) 3. Sev Morgiewicz (Hybrid Center Roanoke) Kids gi Children 60-69.9 1. Mikey Jones (J. Gordon’s Self Defense) 2. Daniel Ortiz (J. Gordon’s Self Defense) 3. Brandon Duncan (Lloyd Irvin Martial Arts Academy) Children 70-79.9 1. John Gilman (Eastern Academy) 2. Jimmy Jones (J. Gordon’s Self Defense) 3. Noah Calvani (Team Roc) Children Up to 59.9 1. Brendan Parent (Lloyd Irvin Martial Arts Academy) 2. Buxter Garczynski (Baltimore BJJ) 3. Samson Sausser (Gustavo Machado) Children 80-109.9 1. Gordy Scofield (Lloyd Irvin Martial Arts Academy) 2. Billy Patterson (BJJ Revolution Team) 3. Mark Tulchinoskiy (J. Gordon’s Self Defense) Kids no-gi Children 60-69.9 1. Mikey Jones (J. Gordon’s Self Defense) 2. Brandon Duncan (Lloyd Irvin Martial Arts Academy) 3. Daniel Ortiz (J. Gordon’s Self Defense) Children 70-79.9 1. John Gilman (Eastern Academy) 2. Jimmy Jones (J. Gordon’s Self Defense) 3. Brady Goodin (Baltimore BJJ) Children Up to 59.9 1. Brendan Parent (Lloyd Irvin Martial Arts Academy) 2. Samson Sausser (Gustavo Machado) 3. Buxter Garczynski (Baltimore BJJ) Children 80-109.9 1. Gordy Scofield (Lloyd Irvin Martial Arts Academy) 2. Billy Patterson (BJJ Revolution Team) 3. Mark Tulchinoskiy (J. Gordon’s Self Defense) Masters gi White Belt Lightweight 1. Clarence Tombo (J. Gordon’s Self Defense) 2. Granville Bracy (Lloyd Irvin Martial Arts Academy) 3. John Manning (Lloyd Irvin Martial Arts Academy) White Belt Middleweight 1. Miguel Vazquez (Fight Works) 2. Matt Harbison (Lloyd Irvin Martial Arts Academy) 3. Aaron Frazier (Maguilla BJJ) White Belt Cruiserweight 1. Maltise Jones (Lloyd Irvin Martial Arts Academy) 2. Greg Hoder (BJJ Revolution) Blue Belt Lightweight 1. Ray Castro (Lloyd Irvin Martial Arts Academy) 2. Douglas Pereira (World Class Martial Arts) 3. Mike Lamatrice (Relson Gracie) Blue Belt Middleweight 1. Joseph Bauserman (Yamasaki Jiu-Jitsu) 2. Andy Hernandez (Fight Works) 3. Gary Madsen (Eastern Academy) Purple Belt Open 1. George Wehby (Yamasaki Jiu-Jitsu) 2. Daniel Ivy (CSC) 3. Gerry Hortado (Ricardo Almeido) Masters no-gi Novice Lightweight 1. William Calvani (Team Roc) 2. John Manning (Lloyd Irvin Martial Arts Academy) Novice Middleweight 1. Will Bimson (Fort Meade BJJ) 2. Andy Hernandez (Fight Works) 3. Steve Tom (Lloyd Irvin Martial Arts Academy) Novice Heavyweight 2. Michael Nugent (VBama) 3. Chris Alfonzo (Asylum Fort Meade) Advanced Middleweight 1. Daniel Ivy (CSC) 3. Matt Harbison (Lloyd Irvin Martial Arts Academy) Teens gi white up to 114.9 1. Matthew Talley (World Class Martial Arts) 2. David Ortiz (J. Gordon’s Self Defense) white 130-149.9 1. Austin Bales (Yamasaki Jiu-Jitsu) 2. James Kennedy (BJJ Revolution Team) white 170+ 1. Andres Valbuena (BJJ Revolution Team) 2. Ryan Adams (Yamasaki Jiu-Jitsu) Teens no-gi All up to 114.9 1. Matthew Talley (World Class Martial Arts) 2. David Ortiz (J. Gordon’s Self Defense) All 130-149.9 1. James Kennedy (BJJ Revolution Team) 2. Matt Williams (BJJ Revolution Team) All 170+ 1. Andres Valbuena (BJJ Revolution Team) 2. Michael Goodman (CSC) 3. Ryan Adams (Yamasaki Jiu-Jitsu) All Open 1. Andres Valbuena (BJJ Revolution Team) 2. Michael Goodman (CSC) Women gi White Belt Open 1. Carolyn Howard (Eastern Academy) 2. Susie Scofield (Lloyd Irvin Martial Arts Academy) White Belt Lightweight 1. Melissa Lopes (Capital Jiu-Jitsu) 2. Lindsey MacMhaolain (CSC) 3. Karen Fong (Lloyd Irvin Martial Arts Academy) White Belt Middleweight 1. Carolyn Howard (Eastern Academy) 2. Katie Beane (BJJ Revolution Team) White Belt Heavyweight 1. Nia Daniels (Lloyd Irvin Martial Arts Academy) 2. Jacquelyn Brant (Yamasaki Jiu-Jitsu) 3. Susie Scofield (Lloyd Irvin Martial Arts Academy) Blue Belt Open 1. Arial Fitzner (Trident) 2. Jen Flannery (None) 3. Jennifer Sutingco (Fight Works) Purple/Brown/Black Middleweight 1. Valerie Worthington (Carlson Gracie/New Breed) 2. Emily Kwok (Ricardo Almeido) 3. Shavonne Guthrie (Balance Studios) Women no-gi Novice Lightweight 1. Melissa Lopes (Capital Jiu-Jitsu) 2. Lindsey MacMhaolain (CSC) Novice Heavyweight 1. Nia Daniels (Lloyd Irvin Martial Arts Academy) 2. Jacquelyn Brant (Yamasaki Jiu-Jitsu) 3. Katie Beane (BJJ Revolution Team) Advanced Open 1. Valerie Worthington (Carlson Gracie/New Breed) 2. Shavonne Guthrie (Balance Studios) 3. Jen Fouquet (Ricardo Almeido) Advanced Lightweight 1. Bethany Marshall (Modern American) 2. Jen Flannery (None) 1 Lloyd Irvin Martial Arts Academy – 104 2 Yamasaki Jiu-Jitsu – 74 3 Pedro Sauer – 49 4 BJJ Revolution Team – 37 5 Capital Jiu-Jitsu – 25 6 J. Gordon’s Self Defense – 22 7 Eastern Academy – 20 7 CSC – 17 9 Baltimore BJJ – 15 10 Maguilla BJJ – 12 11 Fight Works – 10 12 Global – 8 12 Team Roc – 8 12 Maxercise – 8 15 Carlson Gracie/New Breed – 6 16 William and Mary BJJ – 6 17 Trident – 5 17 One Dragon – 5 17 Modern American – 5 20 Ricardo Almeido – 4 21 American Freestyle – 3 21 Gustavo Machado – 3 21 Balance Studios – 3 21 Fort Meade BJJ – 3 21 Hybrid Academy 26 Alliance – 2 26 BJJ Institute – 2 26 Gracie Barra Boston – 2 26 VBama – 2 26 VCU Judo – 2 31 Asylum Fort Meade – 1 31 Baltimore Martial Arts Academy – 1 31 Relson Gracie – 1