Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu has always been one of the premier combat sports that until quite recently, lacked any form of mainstream coverage. As such, some of the elite grapplers not only in Australia but around the world would often not receive the attention or respect that they rightfully deserve, unless they were to make it to the highly competitive and exclusive ADCC event. Kings Cup Submission Grappling, which was started by current UFC athlete Casey O’Neil, represents the next evolution of competitive Brazillian Jiu-Jitsu, as the sport finally seems poised to enter an era of legitimate profitability for both promoters and competitors. On July 30th on the Gold Coast, Kings Cup hosted a highly competitive and exhilarating submission grappling event which showed some of the best talent both in Australia and internationally. With UFC alumni and athletes as well as ADCC competitors filling out the card, coupled with the quality of the production, matches and ruleset, Kings Cup has certainly staked their claim for the top Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu competition here in Australia.

The card was headlined by UFC middleweight Phil Hawes taking on an incredibly game opponent in Kurtis Martin, an accomplished competitor here in Australia. Phil employed a pressure heavy and dominating game mixing in his wrestling with a top heavy suffocating approach on the ground in order to secure the win on points. Phil in an interview with From The Stands expressed interest in competing in more grappling events like this in future, as well as suggesting a matchup with one of the biggest names in the sport, Craig Jones. As Hawes stated:

“I can’t wait to come back, take on Craig Jones, let’s do it”

Moving down the card the next match saw ADCC competitor and arguably one of the top BJJ athletes in the country in Josh Saunders, take the stage against Robbie Paraha. Josh landed a dominating takedown early, before looking to secure the back early on in the match. As Josh varied his attacks and threats from the back, he was able to secure a rear naked choke halfway through the match for the submission victory. Following the victory, Saunders made his goals clear, stay active on the scene and be as prepared as possible for the next ADCC.

Josh Saunders Lands A Big Takedown At Kings Cup Invitational
(Photo Credit: Kings Cup Grappling)

The card also saw the return of Ben Nguyen, a UFC alumni and veteran of the MMA scene take the stage against Tom Moore out of CMBT. A highly competitive, fast paced and entertaining match which saw a litany of attacks, transitions and counter attacks from both men in a combative 10 minute round. With Ben Nguyen holding the record for the fastest submission in UFC flyweight history and now returning to the competitive grappling space, he would certainly be an athlete to keep a close eye on should he wish to continue in competitive Jiu-Jitsu.

Some other standout athletes that certainly merit attention moving forward include Uros Culic, a dangerous and dominating grappler who also competed against Wagner Rocher the night before Kings Cup Invitational. Rod Costa, the current Eternal Bantamweight champion also turned in a dominant performance, securing the victory by a head-arm triangle. Whilst Costa reiterated his focus at the moment is MMA, it would appear a future in competitive grappling is also open to the young athlete.

On a card that was filled top to bottom with exciting, competitive and fast paced matchups, along with a rule system that promotes going for the submission and promotes action within a match, Kings Cup certainly seem poised to take over the grappling space here in Australia. With their first invitational including UFC athletes past and present, current champions in major organizations and well known competitive grapplers, the question the Brazillian Jiu-Jitsu community should be asking themselves is how will Kings Cup raise the bar next time?