Tezos WNO 19: Meregali vs Duarte Presented by Fat Tire

Felipe Pena Set To Return To Tezos WNO vs Haisam Rida On Aug. 10 At WNO 19

Felipe Pena Set To Return To Tezos WNO vs Haisam Rida On Aug. 10 At WNO 19

Felipe Pena (1-1) will take on Haisam Rida (5-2) on the main card of Tezos WNO 19: Meregali vs Duarte presented by Fat Tire on Aug. 10 in Austin, TX.

Jun 22, 2023
Felipe Pena Set To Return To Tezos WNO vs Haisam Rida On Aug. 10 At WNO 19

ADCC champion Felipe Pena will return to the Tezos WNO mats on August 10 to take on rising star submission hunter Haisam Rida on the main card of Tezos WNO 19: Meregali vs Duarte on Thursday, August 10 in Austin, TX at the Palmer Event Center.

Pena, the 2017 ADCC absolute world champion from Gracie Barra, is coming in fresh off a victory over Nick Rodriguez earlier this year, a decision victory after a 30-minute bout. That pushes Pena to 42-8 overall in his no-gi career with a 46% submission rate. Pena has spent recent months training at Atos HQ in San Diego with Andre Galvao and team. There' he'll be training alongside event headliner Kaynan Duarte, who will face Nicholas Meregali in a no-gi match in the main event.

Get your tickets to watch Tezos WNO 19: Meregali vs Duarte LIVE in Austin Texas here


Haisam Rida, who is 5-2 on the Tezos WNO mats in his career, will be returning for his first appearance as an official representative of the B-Team. The ADCC veteran won the FloGrappling Submission of the Year Award last year for his stunning submission over Cyborg Abreu in the first round of the ADC +99kg division. That should come as no surprise, as Rida has built a career off of his explosive, die on your shield style of jiu-jitsu.

He's the owner of the fourth fastest submission in Tezos WNO history, an armlock over Miha Perhavec in 2021. In total, three of his five Tezos WNO victories have come via submission, as have both of his losses.

Pena, with his crafty guard style, will pose an interesting challenge for Rida. Pena's submissions from back control have proven his best attacks throughout his career, and his leg entanglement traps may be his best chance to get there.

But Pena is also often a slow starter, and Rida — with his newfound training environment at B-Team — will be as well-prepared as ever to threaten Pena with pace and explosive energy in the first few minutes.

Watch Tezos WNO 19:Meregali vs Duarte Live on FloGrappling On Thursday, August 10

  • Main Event: Nicholas Meregali vs Kaynan Duarte | 15-minute heavyweight bout
  • Co-Main Event: Ffion Davies (c) vs Jasmine Rocha | 15-minute flyweight title bout
  • Main Card: Felipe Pena vs Haisam Rida | 15-minute heavyweight bout

Stay tuned to FloGrappling for more matchup announcements!