Fight 2 Win continues its saga of matching up ADCC contenders with a title on the line in the main event between Edwin Najmi (Gracie Barra) and DJ Jackson (Team Lloyd Irvin) vying for the no-gi middleweight belt in Chastwick, Pennsylvania on August 3.

In boxing they call it “ring rust”, the general population call it “cobwebs”. Athletes who take large amounts of time off can suffer as a result, and face setbacks or detriments toward their performance. 

Edwin Najmi has not been competing as much as we’re used to since sustaining a knee injury late last year. Since returning to competition he’s gone 1-1 in no-gi, most recently earning a big win against Gianni Grippo at Third Coast Grappling. 

While some guard pullers are regarded as “butt scooters”, the no.4-ranked lightweight no-gi grappler has made waves with some of the most violent and exciting guard pulls since his colored belt days. Guard pulling is boring? Au contraire. Najmi makes it exciting thanks to his flying triangle attack. But Najmi has focused almost exclusively on his top game in recent times, developing some wrestling skills for his ADCC debut. He’ll need it to face off with DJ. 

In contrast to Najmi, DJ Jackson has been extremely active over the last year, especially in no-gi. He’s maintained a winning record so far this year and is the current middleweight no-gi F2W Champion and ranked at no.8 in the FloGrappling No-Gi Rankings. Jackson’s success is largely built upon wrestling and control. He is able to dictate the trajectory of his match and subdue is opponents, even those who are much larger.

The interplay between Jackson’s game founded on control and wrestling, against Najmi’s risky business, isn’t the only thing that makes this match and phenomenal main event. It’s also an opportunity for two of the upcoming ADCC -77kg contenders to feel each other out prior to one of their biggest contests. Granted, there isn’t much in common between the rules for F2W and ADCC, and we don’t know how the brackets will pan out, but with ADCC camps in full gear it definitely raises the stakes.

The rules do influence the way these matches will play out, especially for these guys. While DJ’s wrestling plays into the ADCC ruleset, Najmi has at least double the submission-win rate than DJ, getting the tap most often from his flying triangles and darce chokes (the latter is particularly effective in no-gi). Both his submission rate and his willingness to take risks in pursuit of the tap play well in the F2W format. Will DJ’s capacity to control the match stifle Edwin’s gravity defying-antics? Or will Edwin’s panache keep him ahead? 

Catherine Perret locks in a brutal guillotine vs Ffion Davies 

The co-main event features two of the women with some of the most exciting F2W match ups as of late. Amanda “Tubby” Alequin (West Palm Beach Boxing) is challenging current F2W champ Catherine Perret (Checkmat) for the no-gi bantamweight belt. 

Catherine won the belt in an absolutely insane comeback against Ffion Davies. Down and in danger of submission for the majority of the match, Perret was able to escape in brilliant style and retaliate to earn a guillotine win for the belt, defeating an ADCC contender and establishing herself as one of the best no-gi competitors in the division. Tubby Alequin is a veteran to the F2W stage with a big win over Jena Bishop at F2W 95 in what was one of the most highly-contested, close, and exciting matches of the event.

Fight 2 Win is set to put on the biggest party in grappling this weekend with these two title fights, along with over thirty gi and no-gi match ups between both established competitors and up-and-coming local talent. Watch it LIVE or On Demand ONLY on FloGrappling.