Last night’s WNO card may not have been as explosive as the last event in terms of backstage antics, it’s fair to say that it was probably better on the mat with a number of big submission wins and one surprise victory as well. Here’s the rundown on what happened.
Gordon Ryan defeats Vagner Rocha via triangle choke
Gordon Ryan predicted his submission yet again before the match, and revealed it in a sealed enveloped after the win. At one point, he latched onto a Kimura whilst still having one leg trapped under the body of Rocha. Eventually he got the leg out and span into a triangle to get the finish. Knowing there was no escape, Rocha tapped relatively quickly. It was nice to see the pair embrace after the match and all signs of bad blood were forgotten about.
Nicky Rodriguez defeats Yuri Simoes via decision
This was probably the biggest shock of the night. Although N-Rod has previously medalled at ADCC, he still doesn’t have the legend status that Simoes does by winning two golds in different weight classes. Despite Simoes claiming he’d wrestler before the match, he chose a seated guard on the night. This allowed Rodriguez to push the pace and apply some gruelling bodylock passing attempts. Because of his top-game aggression, he got the win.
Mikey Musumeci defeats Marcelo Cohen via triangle choke/armbar
It may have been Musumeci’s first nogi match since 2016, but it didn’t show. After passing the guard of Cohen, he snatched a triangle from the mount. This quickly transitioned to Musumeci finishing the move from a bottom position where he also isolated the arm of Cohen to turn it into a triangle-armbar finish.
Rafaela Guedes defeats Maggie Grindatti via rear naked choke
Guedes is arguably the queen of superfights right now and last night was business as usual for her. After a few wrestling exchanges earlier on in the match, she managed to take the back of Grindatti with just over 3 minutes left. From there, with a body triangle she managed to sink in an RNC to claim victory.
Oliver Taza defeats Johnny Tama via decision
Taza made it 3 wins from 3 for the Danaher Death Squad. Here, he beat Tama by decision after engaging in a leglock battle which showed his knowledge of the lower-body. At one point he had a deep looking outside heelhook that looked like it could have been on, but Tama managed to escape. Since earning his blackbelt, Taza has looked very dangerous in this area.
Prelims results
Cole Abate defeats Ned Johnson via straight ankle lock
Cole Abate may only be a blue belt, but the AOJ student showed his Mendes bros heritage when it counted. In this match he secured victory by getting a nasty looking belly-down straight ankle lock. Even though this submission if often neglected these days in favor of heelhooks, it can still be dangerous when done correctly.
Andrew Tackett defeats Sean Yardimarco via decision
Andrew is the younger brother of William Tackett who is also smashing it right now. Tackett won by decision after putting in a dominant display. At one point he let Yardimarco stand just so he could hit a big double-leg takedown seconds later.
