Submission Underground (SUG) 7 is set to go down on April 15th at the Roseland Theater in the heart of downtown Portland. SUG has become one of the premier grappling events in the country since its inaugural event in July 2017. Since that time, there has been a focus on the huge names that have come to Portland to compete at SUG. From jiu jitsu standouts Gordon Ryan and Garry Tonon to UFC superstars Jon Jones and Urijah Faber, SUG has become the go to grappling event for some of the biggest names in MMA. Big names like these have been a major reason for the young promotion’s success. However, this time around, SUG matchmaker Heather Standing and team are trying something a little different. At SUG 7, there will be a large focus on local talent and some creative twists that promise to intrigue and excite fans. That said, there will be no lack of star power at this event. Former UFC title challenger Jeff Monson will be taking on Fabiano Scherner in the main event and Ultimate Fighter winner Jesse Taylor will be taking on Portland’s own, Ben Egli in the co-main event. If the main event and co-main event aren’t what you’re looking for, how about something new? Something like, oh I dunno, tag team jiu jitsu? Yes, that’s right, tag team jiu jitsu.
Tag Team Jiu Jitsu
This isn’t some joke. It isn’t the WWE; there will be no tables, ladders, or chairs. This is simply an insanely inventive twist on the sport of jiu jitsu that promises to be very exciting. The way this shakes out is pretty interesting. First, each team must have a total combined weight of no more than 350 lbs. There is no limit to how many competitors you can have on a team, only a total weight restriction. The matches will be eight minutes long and the team with the most submissions at the end of eight minutes wins. In the event of a tie, the crowd will decide the winning team by applause. If that was not exciting enough, it gets better. After a tag is made, the person tagging out has approximately 3 seconds to let go of their position. While that is going on, the competitor who has tagged in can advance a position against their opponent! This should make for some wild and exciting exchanges. There will be five tag matches at the event including a great local rivalry match that pits Impact Jiu Jitsu against 10th Planet Portland.
Brown Belt Tournament
In addition to the tag matches, this event will feature an eight-man brown belt tournament with a $1,000.00 cash prize. This tournament features some standout jiu jitsu practitioners and many with big competition experience.
- Eddie Ziegler – Straight Blast Gym
- Howie Mole – Gracie Barra Portland
- Alex Larmey – Siri BJJ
- Journey Newson – Impact Jiu Jitsu
- Shawn Weisenburgh – Mat Chess MMA
- Matt Kwan – On Guard BJJ
- Bryan Brown – 10th Planet Jiu Jitsu Jacksonville
- Chase Davis – Nice Guy Submission Fighting
Eddie Ziegler is coming off a win at last summer’s Fight To Win 39 and is a past SUG competitor, Howie Mole is a multiple time SUG winner, Journey Newson is a former SUG winner and current CageSport bantamweight champion, Bryan Brown is an original member of the 10th Planet Bomb Squad (Eddie Bravo’s first 10th Planet students), Shawn WeisendBurgh is a former SUG winner. The point is, this is a very deep field and the level of talent in this tournament promises to provide an amazing display of technical jiu jitsu.
When people talk about SUG 7, it has a different feel about it. It harkens back to the days of the early UFC. Back then, you would hear rumblings of some unknown fighter from Brazil who once fought off a gang of eight people single handedly. Or some country strong farm boy from Iowa who never wrestled a day in his life but walked on at Oklahoma and became a two-time All American. The simple addition of a tournament and tag team matches has completely changed the way people are talking about SUG. People are buzzing over a slap of the hands instead of the snap of an arm.
