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Super proud of this guy right here. My student Mark Garcia at this time last year was one of the top competitors on my competition as a blue belt. Was maybe the most talented of a very talented group of bluebelts on our team at the time. While working takedowns after class on day, he completely tore his ACL. As most of us who have had these types of injuries before know, they can be mentally devastating to some as the rehab process is long. Mark had some pitfalls and setbacks during the recovery process and had to watch as many of the top bluebelts on our team, guys he sweat w every day and traveled to compete with, all got promoted to purplebelt during his rehab process. Then, in his first tournament back, he got beaten pretty soundly at the Toys for Tots tourn a couple of months ago. Instead of pouting and feeling sorry for himself, he worked harder, asked questions and diligently started getting back to where he was. He won 2 tournaments in a row after that. Last Wednesday, I promoted Mark to purplebelt and it was a bit emotional because it represented his struggle through this setback on his BJJ journey. Today, he won his purplebelt division at the Fuji BJJ tournament, winning both his matches by submission after being a purplebelt for 3 days. Brother, I am proud of you for your perseverance. See you in the lab tomorrow. OSS

Here is a lesson from Renzo Gracie, as posted today on his Instagram page.

Pain is temporary. It may last a minute, or an hour, or a day, or a year, but eventually it will subside, and something else will take its place. If I quit, however, it lasts forever.” People ask me all the time if it was painful. Yes, of course. It hurt a lot, believe. But at the same time, it was one of the most joyful moments of my life. That was when I became 100% sure I was not going to quit. 🇧🇷🇧🇷🇧🇷 “A dor é temporária. Pode durar um minuto, uma hora, um dia, ou um ano, mas eventualmente ela vai cessar, e vai ser substituída por outro sentimento. Se eu desistir, no entanto, é para sempre”. As pessoas sempre me perguntam se doeu. Claro, doeu muito, acredite. Mas ao mesmo tempo foi um dos momentos mais prazerosos da minha vida, pois foi quando tive certeza de que eu não desistiria. #jiujitsu #legacy #gracie #graciefamily #gallerrapp #gallerr #gallerracademy#brazilianjiujitsu #renzogracie Photo: Luca Atalla Gallerr #tbt

I’m truly sorry if people find this out from this post but writing has always been a form of therapy to me. I received a phone call today from a dear friend that our good friend Dave “The Rock†Jacobs passed away yesterday. To say i am devastated would be an understatement. I pulled over and just cried for about 30 minutes unable to move. Haven’t stopped since. Rock has been my friend for almost 20 years and we have spent hours on the phone in the last year because both of us have had health problems. This picture of us and Justin Garcia hangs in my office and is one of my favorites from my time in BJJ. People used to call the pic “When the lollipop guild goes to Sparta†and Dave used to joke that he was the tallest in this pic. Chim and I used to tell him he was just the closest to the camera. The guys I came up w in what I call the “Grapplers Quest†days are special to me. The Rock was a guy who always laughed, tried to make people smile, always in a good mood. One of the most positive guys I know. He was a joker as well, always teasing me and then laughing when i got mad and he used to tell me that he loved me and my friend Samuel Joseph but he would do anything to get under our skin 🙂 I think he watched the NBA just to tease us about LeBron. He was my go to for BJJ rules, one of the 1st American IBJJF referees. He is a friend who always called to check up on me. He taught at my school 2 years ago after just showing up unexpectedly when in town for a tournament. I still use and teach a takedown that he showed me that night. I am just absolutely heartbroken. I would do anything to talk to him one more time to say goodbye. His children are in my prayers right now ðŸ™. Rock, i love you and will miss you dearly as well as our talks. RIP my brother 💔 until we meet again.

Bellator standout teaches in Lyndhurst BJJ Academy

Bellator standout  teaches in Lyndhurst BJJ Academy! Coming off a Bellator 189 victory, standout Rafael Lovato Jr taught at Savarese BJJ Academy thursday night. Lovato defeated contender Chris Honeycutt in a win shown on Spike TV. Savarese BJJ, lead by Professor Chris Savarese, is affilated with the Lovato BJJ Association. Savarese and Lovato are longtime friend and Savarese has cornered Lovato for many of his East Coast events. recently, Savarese also cornered top Lovato student Justin Rader in a Fight To Win main event in Brooklyn. The 2 go back a long way.

Lovato teaches at Savarese BJJ often

Lovato teaches at Savarese BJJ often and has been doing so for almost 8 years now. Professors Lovato and Savarese met at a Grapplers Quest events over 10 years ago through an introduction between friend Jeff Glover and Bill Cooper, who used to train w Savarese when they competed on the East Coast. The 2 wanted to bring Lovato into the mix and the 4 of them spent a couple of years getting together and exchanging ideas and techniques. Lovato and Savarese continued this and remained affilated today.

Savarese promotes 2 blackbelts

Professor Savarese, on a recommendation from Professor Lovato, decided to promote the 2 a month early to everyone’s great surprised, making it a special night. Savarese had this to say “Thanks to my good friend Rafael Lovato Jr. for putting on a game changing seminar tonight at my Academy. We have some new systems to work on for months. Hence, the night was even more a special because I promoted 2 of my top students, Newskin Savbjj Danny Lleonart and Anthony Del Guercio to the prestigious rank of BLACKBELT. Congrats to both of you for your discipline, hard work and dedication to constant improvement and setting an example. Oss.”

Savarese BJJ’s Sean Yadimarco wins Kasai Pro match

Savarese BJJ’s Sean Yadimarco wins Kasai Pro match! Congrats to Sean Yadimarco on a dominant win tonight over a very tough Jeson Rosario in the Kasai Pro Grappling event. Sean is getting better and better w each match. So excited for his future. #kasaipro 

Match desrciption

Yadimarco pulled guard right away and swept Rosario, who has a very strong top game. He then passed the guard and controlled the match, attacking darce chokes from a tough sidemount. It was an impressive victory all around as Yadimarco showed all his skils.

Rest of Card

MAIN CARD:

Main Event Openweight Superfight:

Gordon Ryan vs. Yuri Simões: winner by rear naked choke Gordon Ryan.

Initial 10-minute submission-only bout, additional 6-minute overtime period.
Overtime period contested under IBJJF scoring system.

Eight-Man Tournament for the KASAI World Lightweight Championship and $10,000:

Garry Tonon (Group B)

Mansher Khera (Group B)

Gianni Grippo (Group A)

Celso Vinicius (Group A)

AJ Agazarm (Group B)

‘Junny’ Ocasio (Group A)

Enrico Cocco (Group A)

Renato Canuto (Group B)

Round 1 Group A:

Gianni Grippo vs. Enrico Cocco: Draw (1 point each).

‘Junny’ Ocasio vs. Celso Vinicius: Draw ( 1 point each).

Round 1 Group B:

Garry Tonon vs. Mansher Khera: Draw (1 point each).

AJ Agazarm vs. Renato Canuto: Draw (1 point each).

Round 2 Group A:

Enrico Cocco vs. ‘Junny’ Ocasio: Draw (1 point each).

Celso Vinicius vs. Gianni Grippo: Draw (1 point each).

Round 2 Group B:

Renato Canuto vs. Mansher Khera: winner by points Renato Canuto (earns 2 points).

AJ Agazarm vs. Garry Tonon: winner by points Gary Tonon (earns 2 points).

Round 3 Group A:

Enrico Cocco vs. Celso Vinicius: winner by guillotine choke Celso Vinicius (earns 3 points).

Gianni Grippo vs. ‘Junny’ Ocasio: Draw (1 point each).

Round 3 Group B:

Gary Tonon vs. Renato Canuto: winner by points Renato Canuto (earns 2 points).

Mansher Khera vs. AJ Agazarm: winner by points Mansher Khera (earns 2 points).

3rd Place Finisher:

Gary Tonon vs. Gianni Grippo: winner by points Gianni Grippo.

FINALS:

Celso Vinicius (Group A) vs. Renato Canuto (Group B): winner by judges decision Renato Canuto.

Main Card Middleweight Superfight:

Murilo Santana vs. Craig Jones: winner by negative points Murilo Santana.

Main Card Women’s Featherweight Fight:

Raquel Pa’aluhi Canuto vs. Caitlin Huggins: winner by points Raquel Pa’aluhi Canuto.

UNDERCARD:

 

Lincoln Pereira (Renzo Gracie) vs. Leonardo Delgado (Soul Fighters) No-Gi, 175lbs: winner by points Lincoln Pereira.

Nick Ronan (Serra BJJ) vs. Mike D’avila (Marcelo Garcia) No-Gi, 155lbs: winner by rear naked choke Nick Ronan.

Jared Weiner (BJJ United) vs. Mike Medrano (All Star BJJ) No-Gi: winner by points Jared Weiner.

Cameron Florczak (OAMA/Renzo Gracie) vs. Alvaro Tautiva (Vitor Shaolin BJJ) Gi,155lbs*: winner by triangle armbar Cameron Florczak.

John Potts (Monster MMA) vs. Steven Kasten (10th Planet Long Island) No-Gi, 185lbs: winner by leg lock Steven Kasten.

Jobany Rosario (Clockwork) vs. Rickson Pimentel (Essential) Gi, 155lbs*: winner by points Rickson Pimentel.

Jeson Rosario (Bronx Jiu-Jitsu) vs. Sean Yadimarco (Savarese BJJ) Gi, 155lbs*: winner by points Sean Yadimarco.

Brian Richards (Unity) x Ray Sherwood (Marcelo Garcia) No Gi, Heavyweight: winner by points Ray Sherwood.

*Gi matches contested under standard IBJJF rules.