Joao Assis flew all the way across the United States and defended his Fight to Win Pro heavyweight title on Saturday night in enemy territory.

The crowd was stunned after the epic main event that saw both competitors fighting for submissions, in the end the judges awarded a split decision to the defending champion Joao Assis. The Checkmat blackbelt attacked for heel hooks and kneebars right from the get go and even though he had no success dealing with Deblass's impenetrable half guard he remained active enough to earn the decision. 

This is Assis' fourth win under the Fight to Win banner and he has successfully defended his title twice now.

Deblass had some attacks of his own, constantly threatening with kimura attempts but ultimately wasn't able to match the number of submission attempts. Both men looked to be in tremendous shape and continued to push the pace right up to the final bell. Check out the full Fight to Win Pro 43 results here!

Both Assis and Deblass will compete in the ADCC World Championships in September and are clearly putting in the appropriate work. No doubt both men will be getting back to work for the mega tournament.

Fight to Win continues it's quest to pay out 1 million dollars to athletes in 2017 and at Fight to Win Pro 43 paid fighters $20,486 in salaries and commissions.

Another highlight of the night was Jason Patton's brutal baseball bat choke, Watch it below!