By Averi Clements

Fight To Win Pro 53 is set to bring the fireworks to Frederick, Maryland, on Friday, Nov. 3, and you can watch it all happen live on FloGrappling.

The main event features a middleweight no-gi title match between Team Lloyd Irvin’s DJ Jackson and Zenith BJJ’s Gilbert “Durinho” Burns. A world champion in both gi and no-gi, Burns has numerous other accolades to his name, including a gold medal at the 2010 World Pro Cup. 

Jackson is the current titleholder, having most recently defeated James Brasco via heel hook at the end of July to retain his position at the top. There’s no doubt that a grappler of Burns’ caliber is going to give him a serious challenge, and he’s going to have to fight hard to hold on to his belt.

The co-main event features 2015 FIVE Super League champion Tim Spriggs and multiple-time world champion Leo Nogueira. The two will battle it out for the black belt heavyweight gi title. Nogueira’s last F2W appearance saw him defeat Ricardo Abreu at F2W Pro 36, so it will be interesting to see what kind of damage Spriggs will be able to do against him.

Talita Alencar in action. Photo: Mike Calimbas

The female flyweight championship is also on the line when Aerae Alexander (who was a world and Pans champion as a purple belt) takes on 2017 world and Pan American champion Talita Alencar. A Fight to Win Pro veteran, Alencar has previously competed against Mackenzie Dern at F2W 12 and then won against Maxine Thylin later on at F2W 16.

This will be Alexander’s first match for the promotion, and defeating such a decorated grappler as Alencar would certainly be a massive highlight for her black belt career.

Fight To Win Pro 53 streams live on FloGrappling, starting at 6 PM EST on Friday, Nov. 3. Don’t miss it!