Dillon Danis speaks about his suspension from MG academy

[Uchi Mata]

They are trying to win ADCC. They are elite in no-gi no time limit, I just don't give a shit about that format personally.

ADCC is a weird hybrid, though I think they'll do pretty well. Word on the street is they've been working their wrestling intensely to be more competitive this year in that area.

As for not caring about the format, that's totally understandable. I don't really care at all about points competition anymore, and I really don't care about sub only other than it reveals what does and doesn't work on the leg game which interests me a great deal for MMA. The people I watch these days are guys like Demian Maia, Ryan Hall, and Jacare because I'm interested primarily in MMA grappling. Doesn't mean people like Gabriel Arges and Keenan Cornelius don't have cool styles, it's just not my thing.

 

[HelloJapan]

What makes MG such amazing human being is his niceness...yet he can snuff your life out. All this being said-his gym, his rules.

 

[trustdoesntrust]

If I was a betting man, I'd bet on Gordon and Garry to medal and Eddie to make it to the quarters or maybe semis. Mostly because I think Eddie's division will be the deepest, and he also seems like the weakest wrestler which matters a lot in ADCC. People know that if they can stall him out they can win against his -1 guard pull. If I was picking any of them to win...probably Garry. Just because he has the strongest all around game and best wrestling, though he himself says Gordon is better so who knows.

Don't know who all is in his bracket, but Gordon would be a favorite to medal in my book. He has an underrated sweep game that I think could win him some matches by points if necessary. Tonon would be hard to beat in a no-time limit sub only grandprix, but hard to see how he keeps from being outscored by a technically sound Brazilian of the Lucas Lepri/ Otavio Sousa mold. For example, I would pick Gilbert Burns over him under ADCC rules even though Tonon submitted him at Polaris. Eddie Cummings seems like even money to get a bronze, mostly depending on his bracket. He could easily heel hook his first two matches before drawing the disciplined top player that his his anathema.

Overall, I have a sinking feeling that this year's ADCC could bring in a new level of rules-gaming we haven't seen previously. From watching the Five Grappling events, and the few other sub only stuff that have attracted guys from the big IBJJF gyms, you see a definite strategic trend toward 'cautiously engage in order to shrink the match to one decisive move, scoring or not.'

 

[mataleaos]

Don't know who all is in his bracket, but Gordon would be a favorite to medal in my book. He has an underrated sweep game that I think could win him some matches by points if necessary. Tonon would be hard to beat in a no-time limit sub only grandprix, but hard to see how he keeps from being outscored by a technically sound Brazilian of the Lucas Lepri/ Otavio Sousa mold. For example, I would pick Gilbert Burns over him under ADCC rules even though Tonon submitted him at Polaris. Eddie Cummings seems like even money to get a bronze, mostly depending on his bracket. He could easily heel hook his first two matches before drawing the disciplined top player that his his anathema.

Overall, I have a sinking feeling that this year's ADCC could bring in a new level of rules-gaming we haven't seen previously. From watching the Five Grappling events, and the few other sub only stuff that have attracted guys from the big IBJJF gyms, you see a definite strategic trend toward 'cautiously engage in order to shrink the match to one decisive move, scoring or not.'

Has that been happening at Five? The only Five event I saw was the one this past December/January where Edwin Najmi won and subbed everyone I think? Or almost everyone. I thought all of the matches were exciting but maybe it's changed since then?

I also think we will see some next level gamesmanship. The ADCC finals have been getting harder to watch since 2011, but even with a lot of big names out in 2013 and a terrible stream, it was still a fun event to watch with some great matches. 2015 was the first ADCC I can ever remember thinking as a whole was pretty lame, save a few matches. A lot of the finals strategy of not wanting to pull guard seemed to extend earlier into the brackets, and basically all of day 2 was not very exciting. I could see that continuing to happen. ADCC used to seem like a no gi jiu jitsu tournament with an added focus on wrestling, but now it seems to be creeping more towards a wrestling tournament that allows submissions. I know the rules haven't changed but the feeling of the events has changed IMO.

 

[trustdoesntrust]

Has that been happening at Five? The only Five event I saw was the one this past December/January where Edwin Najmi won and subbed everyone I think? Or almost everyone. I thought all of the matches were exciting but maybe it's changed since then?

I also think we will see some next level gamesmanship. The ADCC finals have been getting harder to watch since 2011, but even with a lot of big names out in 2013 and a terrible stream, it was still a fun event to watch with some great matches. 2015 was the first ADCC I can ever remember thinking as a whole was pretty lame, save a few matches. A lot of the finals strategy of not wanting to pull guard seemed to extend earlier into the brackets, and basically all of day 2 was not very exciting. I could see that continuing to happen. ADCC used to seem like a no gi jiu jitsu tournament with an added focus on wrestling, but now it seems to be creeping more towards a wrestling tournament that allows submissions. I know the rules haven't changed but the feeling of the events has changed IMO.

This past weekend's Five Grappling event was pretty weak. Always some good moments in any event, but you watch Gianni Grippo, Shane Taylor Hill, Saggioro, et al. and it just seems clear that these IBJJF camps have finally figured out how to game open rulesets. They look for one move that will either score or resonate with judges, and stall out the match otherwise. Certainly Leandro Lo had that game plan at his ADCC trial match against Gordon Ryan, and Bruno Frazzato vs Geo Martinez too.

 

[Kenny from MD]

Didn't Bruno spend that whole match passing or did I remember wrong?

 

[sb413197]

Sounds like he basically admits to not being very nice ("Marcelo wants people to be nice and smiling" stuff etc) and not fitting in there because of it.

I don't see the big deal. Marcelo does BJJ for the love and enjoyment of it, and despite being elite, Danis doesn't really fit with the vibe of the gym, so doesn't train there anymore. I guess the only thing that could be done different would have been to keep it all on the down-low without broadcasting it to the world.

 

[trustdoesntrust]

Didn't Bruno spend that whole match passing or did I remember wrong?

He spent the nonscoring half of the match in double guard pulls, cautious top basing, and quickly disengaging from Geo's leglock attempts. He gradually turned it up in the points period, looking for the passing points he eventually got. This strategy almost backfired early, though, as Geo was going balls to the wall from the start and almost caught a complacent Bruno in a heel hook.

 

[mataleaos]

Didn't Bruno spend that whole match passing or did I remember wrong?

Nah you remembered right. That was the best superfight of that day.

Geo did have a nice kneebar and arm triangle attempt. But Bruno was aggressive for the entire match and worked hard on knee slice passing, and looking for front headlock style chokes and back attacks. He spent most of the match in the driver's seat besides a couple of brief sequences.

 

[imarayda]

The interview actually made me like him. And it does make sense, I mean just because you see a guy as your father figure doesn't mean you'll see eye to eye. It's like his dad kicked him out and theyre having problems, that kind of shit is normal. Plus older dudes can be annoying sometimes lol, so I could imagine being lectured by another man can start to wear thin.