On Saturday, March 29, the most anticipated combat sports event of the weekend occurred in Los Angeles, California. While it wasn’t a major boxing event or card held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship, the Metamoris 3 card had captured the attention of many people within the world of mixed martial arts. In the end, this event was considered a success, and a strong hope for the future of sport Jiu Jitsu.
Metamoris 3 featured 12 of the best Jiu Jitsu players in the sport, pitting them against one another in 20-minute submission-only matchups. At the end of the evening, only two of the six fights featured finishes: Gui Mendes used a baseball choke to force Samir Chantre to submit, and Keenan Cornelius was able to tap out Kevin Casey, who replaced Vinny Maglahes. However, the other four matches were very intense in their own respects.
Headlined by the rematch between Eddie Bravo and Royler Gracie, Metamoris 3 was a major improvement over the organization’s earlier offerings. There were a number of complaints that came out of Metamoris 2, such as the way Brendan Schaub competed against Brendan “Cyborg” Abreu. Yet with their most recent event, it seems as if matchmakers have found a way to create style matchups that entice better Jiu Jitsu action.
The minds behind Metamoris were also successful at building the anticipation behind this event. In the weeks leading up to the card, the promotion released multiple videos to hype the matchups. The presentations introduced these fighters to the world beyond the mats, and to fans who may not be familiar with their respective exploits. Now these athletes have new fans, and the promotion has developed a formula for building stars in the future.
With so many different mixed martial arts competitors that have come from the world of grappling, there are a number of “dream fights” that Metamoris could look into making down the line. Kron Gracie versus Demian Maia, Keenan Cornelius versus Rousimar Palharaes, Braulio Estima versus Nick Diaz – the number of potential fights grows. While many of these would be difficult to make, the fact that promoters and fans are even entertaining the idea of doing so is proof that Metamoris succeeded in alerting the world about sport Jiu Jitsu.
It is always a positive thing when the world of combat sports grows outside of boxing and MMA. With the steady emergence of kickboxing, Jiu Jitsu, and other forms of fighting, it’s clear that there are still more than enough sports for fight fans to consume.
