Grappling Report: Update on the Leandro Lo murder trial
A rundown of the biggest headlines and news from the world of competitive grappling.
The BJJ world was shocked back in August when news broke that Leandro Lo was murdered in a nightclub in Sao Paulo. According to witnesses, the BJJ world champion got into an altercation with Henrique Otavio Oliveira Velozo after the man attempted to take a drink from Lo’s table. Lo allegedly subdued Velozo and restrained him on the ground, but allowed him to walk away once he believed that the altercation was over.
Velozo then allegedly returned to shoot him in the head at close range and although Lo was rushed to hospital immediately, nothing could be done to save him. Now the wheels of the justice system have begun to turn as the initial hearing has been set in the trial of Velozo for Leandro Lo’s murder. The hearing will take place on February 3rd and the Brazilian legal process will unfold from there.
Lucas ‘Hulk’ Barbosa set to make PFL debut at the end of January
It’s been quite a while since Lucas ‘Hulk’ Barbosa signed a contract with PFL and he even had his debut scheduled for early 2022 initially until the fight fell through. Barbosa didn’t end up making his promotional debut that year as he had to return to grappling in order to focus on ADCC 2022. Barbosa came out of that tournament with a silver medal in the 88kg division, losing only to the champion Giancarlo Bodoni.
Now it seems that Barbosa must have immediately got back to preparing for his return to professional MMA, as he’s been booked to compete in PFL Challenger Series on January 27th. He will be fighting Renzo Gracie Philadelphia product Itsi Babulaidze for the opportunity to compete in the regular 2023 PFL season, which means that this could be the start of a huge year for Barbosa if he wins.
Garry Tonon and Mikey Musumeci win big at ONE Fight Night 6
ONE Fight Night 6 saw two of America’s most popular grapplers stepping into the cage for wildly different reasons. First up was Garry Tonon, who was returning to MMA for the first time since he suffered his first loss of his career against Thanh Le. Tonon got to work as soon as the bell rang and he used a kimura grip to take down Johnny Nunez and force him to tap all inside of less than two minutes of the first round.
Much later in the night, Mikey Musumeci put his flyweight submission grappling title on the line against Combat Sambo world champion Gantamur Bayanduuren. It was his first title-defence and Musumeci seemed eager to get the finish, immediately attacking Bayanduuren’s legs. There were several moments where it seemed as though Bayanduuren would tap but he survived until the end and Musumeci won by decision instead.
Full results for the event can be found here.
Baret Yoshida Impresses at Fight 2 Win 216
Baret Yoshida might be coming up to 50 years old soon but he’s still competing and putting on electric performances. Fight 2 Win came to Hawaii for their 216th event and naturally Yoshida was the obvious choice for the main event match in his home-state. Yoshida faced Garry Nakamura, the head coach of Silver Fox Hawaii and a fellow BJJ black belt with years of experience.
Yoshida looked just as impressive today as he did over a decade ago as he transitioned to a beautiful kneebar and forced Nakamura to tap. The rest of the card was stacked with dozens of matches featuring some of the best local talent that Hawaii has to offer. As has become the standard for Fight 2 Win, the event also featured a handful of Judo matches alongside the submission grappling and BJJ matches as well.
Full results for the event can be found here.
Quick Hits
- On a recent episode of The Joe Rogan Experience, the host discussed Gordon Ryan and his alleged use of PEDs and declared ‘That’s a factor’.
- Veteran MMA referee and popular UFC figure Marc Goddard was promoted to second degree BJJ black belt by Braulio Estima.
- Bellator CEO Scott Coker declared that he was unsure about Dillon Danis’ motivation, asking ‘do you really want to fight?’
- Famous actor and BJJ purple belt Mario Lopez made an appearance on The Kelly Clarkson Show and taught the host how to do a rear-naked choke on live TV.