Event Analysis: Now King of Mats Has Happened, Here's What We Think
Event Analysis: Now King of Mats Has Happened, Here's What We Think
Now the dust has settled here's what we think of the first Abu Dhabi King of Mats event.
By Hywel Teague
The dust has now settled on the inaugural King of Mats. There was a lot to digest after this new initiative, so let’s look back on this brand new event.
First off, the idea of the round robin is an intriguing one. As athletes come back out to compete again and again, the audience can get behind their favorites. This means competitors can even return to fight once again after a loss, which often leads to people supporting underdogs. Losses in the early rounds can even be avenged in the finals, if all goes well.
What did you think of the first @uaejjf King of Mats? pic.twitter.com/cBhr8shooy
— FloGrappling (@FloGrappling) April 25, 2018
However, not all athletes are either fans of the format, or familiar with how it goes. Celso Vinicius, who is one athlete who has competed in round robin in the past and knows exactly how it goes, was disappointed he didn’t advance out of the group stage even though he lost only one match (a decision to Thiago Marques). With him, Marques and Grippo tied at three wins each, it came down to tie-breaking rules that saw Celso eliminated on a technicality.
As you’d expect from the UAEJJF, the presentation and look of the event was typically high. From a spectator’s perspective, the event was well-run and kept moving with no real breaks.
There were some organizational issues, however: Andre Galvao was not given sufficient time to recover between matches and had to come back out against a fresh Charles Negromonte after only 6 minutes(!) rest. The UAEJJF website even states that he should have been given a minimum of three matches before he was called out again, which could have been 18 minutes. This led to an underwhelming performance from the three-time UAEJJF World Pro champion, who was extremely disappointed with the result.
The sizes of the groups were somewhat uneven. With seven total athletes in the 85kg division they were divided into two groups, one of 3 and one of 4. The lightweights had a monster lineup of 10 people, meaning the podium finishers fought more than anybody else.
The cash prizes on offer were incredible, with $30,000 for the winner, $10,000 for second place and $5,000 for third. There was guaranteed show money for all entrants, as well as bonuses for Best Match and Best Submission.
The UAEJJF has tentative plans to take King of Mats on the road after this event, making it a part of a growing pro circuit that will offer high level black belts the chance to regularly compete for money. Of course, this also gives fans one more great show to look forward to.
Watch some stand-out matches...
Renato Canuto vs Clark Gracie
Jaime Canuto vs Roberto Satoshi
Samuel Canquerino vs Hiago George
