Our blog has been on a hiatus for the last month but it has been a crazy busy month getting ready for The Radius Invitational. As I sit here writing this, we are less than four days away from the event, going down on September 11th at noon at The Warehouse at Fairfield Theatre Company. We have all been incredibly busy with putting the pieces together but I truly believe that we have an outstanding show lined up for everybody.
For those that have not been following along already, shame on you we have an 8 man submission only tournament with EBI rules. Winner takes all cash prize. In addition to the tournament bracket we have three all female special matches featuring some very talented ladies as young as 12 years old.
We have had a couple of competitors drop out due to injury and just today got those spots filled. Here is a quick breakdown of the bracket as it stands now.
Oliver Taza vs. Daniel Lee: Unless you have been sleeping under a rock the last six months, you know that Taza has been crushing it in the sub only scene all over the country and even internationally. He is a brown belt under Firas Zahabi at Tristar, and spends a lot of time training at the Renzo Gracie Academy with all of the top submission only specialists in the world. I assume that most will have Taza has their favorite to win. Daniel Lee just got added today as a late replacement for the injured Andrew Meyer. Not much is known about Daniel other than that he is a purple belt from Long Island, but with the pace at which jiu jitsu is growing right now you cannot count out anybody. I expect Daniel to show up ready to put on a show.
Matheus Lutes vs Chase Hannah: Matheus is a current IBJJF purple belt world champion and is also coming off a gold medal performance at the Boston Open. He trains at Unity Jiu Jitsu so you know that he is training at the highest level. I am excited to see how his game translates into the sub only rule set with all submissions being legal. Chase Hannah is a purple belt from 10th Planet Gulf Shores Alabama. You might not know who he is now, but he holds a recent submission victory over a competitor that will be participating in EBI on the same day.
Josh Yelverton vs Jon Blank: Josh Yelverton is a teammate of Chase Hannah and also has a recent submission victory over the same EBI competitor as Chase. This goes to show that you cannot underestimate any of these up and coming competitors, especially under this rule set. Jon Blank is a purple belt out of 10th Planet Bethlehem and is another young guy on that upward trajectory. He has been crushing the regional competition so we are excited to host him at The Radius Invitational.
Tom Clare vs Frank Jackson: This is a great matchup up of two brown belts from around our region. Tom is a very tough competitor and has medaled at the IBJJF no gi Pan Ams. He is ranked under Luigi Mondelli through the KORE affiliation and runs his own academy, the MMA Collective. Frank trains out of Gracie Farmington Valley in CT and could be a tough match for any of these guys. He has a well rounded game and is very tough to submit.
Special Match 1 - Tori Applegate vs Faye Farrales: This will be the opening match of the event because these two are guaranteed to bring the action. Tori is a purple belt from 10th Planet Gulf Shores and Faye is a purple belt from the Renzo Gracie Academy. I’m very excited to have these ladies kick off the show with some excitement.
Special Match 2 - Julianna D’Antonio vs Evyn Nile: These young ladies are 13 and 12, respectively, and have had a very closely contested match in the past with Evyn taking the victory. Julianna is coming out of South Jersey BJJ while Evyn trains out of GFTeam CT. There are a lot of people excited to see this rematch. They are both highly skilled and have been training hard for this one.
Special Match 3 - Rachel Beach vs Jillian DeCoursey: Rachel is a brown belt out of Apocalypse Jiu Jitsu and Jillian is a brown belt coming out of East Coast United Queens Academy. We are thrilled to have two regional women at this high level competing on our stage.
You can get your spectator tickets for $25 through the Fairfield Theatre Company box office or at the door: http://fairfieldtheatre.org/shows/radius-martial-arts-competition
There will also be a free YouTube live stream for those that cannot attend in person: https://www.youtube.com/c/radiusmartialartsacademyfairfield
Lastly, I would like to thank all of our sponsors that have helped make this event possible: Physical Synergy Fairfield, Signarama Norwalk, SicChic Fight Wear, Defense Soap, and Muddy Paws Organic Mobile Dog Grooming.
I look forward to seeing everybody there!
