The no.1-ranked middleweight, Vagner Rocha, is set to return to FloGrappling’s Who’s Number One in May 28 when he takes on three-time No-Gi World Champion and 2019 ADCC bronze medalist, Josh Hinger. 

Fight Sports’ Rocha is coming off a tough loss to the pound-for-pound king, Gordon Ryan on WNO earlier this year, but he remains 2-1 on the platform, with victories over Ronaldo Junior and Jon Blank. 

Rochas style is nothing short of gritty. His heavy handed takedown game and nearly unshakable base from the top, along with his quickly developing understanding of the leg lock game, makes him an enigma for any opponent. 

But Hinger, who will make his WNO debut on May 28, has toppled the best of them for years. He hasn’t competed in a no-gi match since 2019, and is currently unranked, but the Atos black belt has the skill and tenacity to put Rocha under rarely-seen pressure. Hinger, who will make his WNO debut on May 28, is best known for his guillotine. But he’s one of the few grapplers who has the takedown pedigree required to put Rocha on his back, and keep him there. 

This 15-minute match is likely to require all 42-square-feet of the WNO mat space.

The main event, Gordon Ryan vs Luiz Panza, is scheduled for 30-minutes, and will be preceded by seven 15-minute matches on the main card to be announced later this week. There will also be three undercard matches, free to watch on FloGrappling’s Facebook and YouTube channels.

You can watch FloGrappling’s Who’s Number One: Gordon Ryan vs Luiz Panza live in person in Austin, TX. Tickets are on sale now.

As always, the weigh-ins and press conference will be live on FloGrappling on Thursday, May 27, at 5:30 p.m. ET.

Stay tuned all week for more match announcements for this event.