The Metamorphosis Metamoris Needs To Push Sport Jiu Jitsu To Center Stage

By Raphael Garcia

Sport Jiu Jitsu was brought back to the main stage in the combat sports world this past weekend, as the second Metamoris event was held. While this card featured a number of big names in the grappling and mixed martial arts world, the fan base wasn’t too electrified with the end result. The event was a solid showing for grappling enthusiasts, but if the sport is to grow beyond its niche market, perhaps these changes will help it get there:

Submit Everyone!

At Metamoris 2 all of the fights except for the main event went the distance, with some ending in draws. While this by itself doesn’t prevent the more exciting aspects of grappling to take hold, it does give some athletes the chance to play “safer” games than they would ordinarily. However, creating a submissions-only rule where every match has to end by tap out may convince these world-class athletes to take more risks and stay aggressive. Removing the time limit would also eliminate the need to have judges on hand; the presence of judges could convince fighters to play it safe during their competition.

On the flip side, this rule change does lend itself to a high level showcase of grappling in which the individuals competing may cancel each other out and create lengthy battles. Still, with the right matchmaking, even these long bouts can be entertaining for the in-house and online crowd.

Bonuses for Finishing

Money motivates many people, and we’ve seen the effect that bonuses have had on mixed martial arts. Metamoris can implement a similar strategy by rewarding fighters for finishes. Submission bonuses can be implemented into the budget, along with additional bonuses for unique finishes. This change hinges on the financial strength of the promotion at this time, but the benefits could create matches that are faster-paced with fighters looking for the finish more often.

Partnership with Mixed Martial Arts 

This would be the most difficult step for Metamoris in the future. While they were able to bring over Shinya Aoki and Brendan Schaub for this event, it will be interesting to see if they can continue to get the mixed martial arts promotions to “lend” their athletes to the promotion. The UFC has some of the best grapplers in MMA, so you can expect the promotion would like this to continue. However, this is dangerous for the UFC, as athletes can get injured and miss out on competing in their true profession. Even still, big names from both sports would surely help crossover appeal.

In the end, Metamoris 2 was a positive step for the establishment of combat Jiu Jitsu. With so many competitions going on in the country on a daily basis, the success of a major promotion will only continue the development of the sport.