The rubber match between Nicholas Meregali and Felipe Pena is set for August 29 in Brazil, just two weeks ahead of ADCC, as part of a Spaten Fight Night card that mixes disciplines across five bouts.
The card opens with two judo matches, Bia Souza against Raz Hershko and Rafa Silva against Prisca Awiti, before shifting to boxing for a heavyweight clash between Mauricio “Shogun” and Glover Teixeira. The Meregali-Pena jiu-jitsu bout sits in the middle of the lineup, followed by a closing boxing match between Luan Medeiros and Juan Cruz for a Latin American title.
Fans have been paying close attention to the lead-up, particularly the trash talk between Meregali and Pena on social media in the weeks before the event. According to comments on r/bjj, Portuguese-speaking fans have especially enjoyed the promotion, with one commenter noting the two have been going after each other online for weeks. Several fans contrasted the exchanges favorably with more aggressive trash talk styles seen elsewhere in combat sports, describing the Meregali-Pena back-and-forth as good-natured rather than mean-spirited.
Grapplers revisiting the pair’s previous FloGrappling Invitational meeting flagged the final guard-passing sequence as a highlight, praising Meregali’s passing and Pena’s back work, while hoping this third meeting doesn’t turn into a standing battle for large stretches like their past matches have at times.
The eclectic nature of the card, spanning judo, boxing, and BJJ on a single show, also drew attention from commenters, with several pointing out that the event’s backing by a beer company likely explains the unusual format.
With ADCC on the horizon, the Meregali-Pena rematch adds another data point to one of grappling’s more heated ongoing rivalries, and fans on Reddit seem more interested in the story building around it than in past encounters between the two.
A freelance journalist with more than seven years of experience covering a wide range of topics, with a focus on delivering accurate, engaging, and well-researched reporting. He studied at the University of Birmingham, where he developed a strong foundation in journalism and communications. Martin is a 10th Planet BJJ brown belt and has been training for approximately 10 years and a keen follower of submission grappling.
