Ultimate fighting Championship (UFC) recently announced that it has added an intriguing bevy of “superfights” to its first-ever grappling tournament, which is slated to be a part of the UFC Fan Expo from July 10 to 11 at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Grapplers Quest at UFC Fan Expo will feature talents such as Shooto legend and Japanese mainstay, Rumina “Moon Wolf” Sato, Ulysses “Useless” Gomez, Vinicius Magalhaes, Fredson Paixao and Joe Stevenson, among other notables.
Sato is known for his unorthodox submissions in mixed martial arts such as his flying armbar victory over Charles Taylor at Shooto: “Devilock Fighers” in 1999. His opponent, Gomez, is a purple belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu and a highly accomplished grappler, winning many accolades during his time in competition.
Magalhaes — The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 8 light heavyweight finalist — is still waiting for an opponent to be announced. However, whoever it is will have his work cut out for him because Magalhaes is a former Mundials and Pan-American grappling champion, boasting one of the slickest ground games in the world.
In other action, Paixao — a current WEC featherweight standout — is slated to do battle with 22-time Grapplers Quest winner Jeff Glover. And the UFC’s Joe “Daddy” Stevenson is set to take on young jiu-jitsu ace Bill “The Grill” Cooper, which should present an interesting match-up.
Stevenson recently out-grappled Nate Diaz in a mixed martial arts contest at TUF 9 Finale last month to earn a decision win from the judges. Cooper should present another tough test for Stevenson on the ground … especially in a pure grappling contest.
UFC Fan Expo is a two-day fan exposition of mixed martial arts activities that starts on Friday, July 10.
In addition to the meet and greets with legendary UFC and WEC fighters, MMA demonstrations, fan-inspired special events, training and development sessions, and other exciting opportunities and entertainment, UFC officials plan to enshrine two more of its greatest stars in the Hall of Fame, coinciding with the colossal pay-per-view (PPV) event scheduled for Saturday, July 11.
For more on UFC 100 and everything else that’s going on next weekend clickhere.
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