UFC 130

No time for chit chat, lets get down to the fights!

Brian "All-American" Stann vs. Jorge Santiago
middleweight

Stann looked extremely impressive in his last fight, knocking out the extremely durable Chris Leben in the first round. A former WEC light heavyweight champion, Stann is now making waves as a middleweight, and has shown improvement in every fight. He has KO power in both hands, and is a very tough fighter to take down, which he'll need to flex in this fight, as Santiago is wicked slick on the ground. Santiago is making his second go around in the UFC after a less than impressive debut that saw him go 1-2, with two knockout losses. Since then he's amassed an impressive 11-1 record including two epic fights with Kazuo Misaki, the second of which was a Fight of the Year candidate from last year. His stand up is solid, if not unspectacular, but his real strength is his ground game, where he's secured over half his career wins.

The tough part of this fight for Santiago is the fact that he doesn't have a particularly durable chin, and Stann hits like a freight train. Stann has the more technical stand up, and is not likely to let this fight go to the ground. Santiago will hang on as best he can, but with the pace Stann likes to set, I'll be surprised to see this fight make it past two rounds before Santiago hits the canvas courtesy of a right hand from "All American".

Stann via KO, Rd. 2.


Stefan "Skyscraper" Struve vs Travis "Hapa" Browne
heavyweight

Two simply monstrous men square off in this heavyweight tilt, and it doesn't appear to be headed towards the judges hands. Both fighters have won 90% of their fights via stoppage, and that trend doesn't look to stop here. Struve is only 23, but has over 25 fights as a professional. He's 6"11', and is continuously packing more muscle onto his lanky frame, but while that bodes well for his striking power, his real bread and butter is his frighteningly smooth submission game, which has garnered him 14 of his 21 career wins. Browne is for the first time in his career facing a fighter taller than him, but at 6'7, he's only a few inches below the towering Dutchman. With a purple belt in bjj, Browne is no slouch on the ground, and has a very strong stand up game. He also has an undefeated record, and has suffered only a draw to Cheick Kongo to mar his fighting slate. While both men have a great deal of talent when a fight hits the mat, they also both like to swing leather, and if that's the case, this fight may not make it out of the first round. Look for Browne to swarm early, but Struve will keep his distance, and utilize his reach to keep the Hawaiian at bay. Browne's suspect gas tank will come into play late in the first round, and if Browne doesn't get caught by then, this fight will be Struves to finish very early in the second.

Struve via TKO, Rd. 1



Rick "Horror" Story vs. Thiago "Pitbull" Alves
welterweight

A battle tested veteran takes on a hungry up and comer in this battle of 170 pounders. There's also a good chance that the winner of this fight could find themselves looking being only a fight away from a number one contender's match up, but they have to focus on their opponent, because Alves has one punch KO power and some of the nastiest leg kicks around, while Story is as mentally strong as they come, and with a granite chin, and scary determined wrestling. This fight should be a barn burner, with Story looking to prove he belongs with the best of the division, and Alves trying to climb back to a title shot.

Alves looked great in his last fight, a dominant decision victory over John Howard. His Muay Thai is nasty, and he has leg kicks that come quicker than almost anyone elses in the UFC. His ground game is underrated, but mostly because he rarely lets fights get to the ground, and relies on his stand up to wreck opponents. Story has a solid wrestling background, and is also frighteningly strong, as evidenced by his arm triangle submission from the guard over Brian Foster. He's tough as nails, and has the cardio to go hard for a full three rounds, something Alves has lacked in the past. With his gas tank issues seemingly solved, Alves should be able to pick Story apart at range, and prevent the fight from even coming close to the mat. Expect leg kicks and counter punching from Alves for most of the fight, stuffing the Story take downs, and getting the unanimous decision.

Alves via Unanimous Decision


Frank Mir vs. Roy "Big Country" Nelson
heavyweight

In a fight that brings the winner that much closer to title relevance, this could come down to who can out strategize the other. Mir is the more technical striker, with better head movement, and throws solid combinations. His take down defense is pedestrian at best, but is very adept at fighting off of his back and searching for submissions. Nelson has big KO power, and is a vastly underrated grappler. While he's not the most accomplished wrestler, his heart and toughness are second to none, as proven by getting pummeled without relent in his fight with Junior Dos Santos, but making it through all three rounds. This fight will be a very interesting one to watch, mostly to see how these fighters try and out fox the other. Nelson needs to wade through the combos, get inside, and work the body, trying to find Mir's suspect chin with his big overhand right. Mir wants to keep distance, work jabs and hooks, and perhaps some leg kicks as well, to try and slow down Nelson. If the fight goes to the ground, Mir needs to keep Nelson off of him, and work ground and pound, going for a submission if he feels he can finish it. Nelson wants to stay out of the guard of Mir, but also wants to keep his pressure and weight firmly pressing Mir to the mat.

I think this will be a good chess match of a fight, with Mir's athleticism being the deciding factor. Nelson will withstand an early barrage, maybe try for a take down or two, but with the superior striking of Mir, Nelson just wont be able to close the distance, and wont be able to land the home run shot. Mir gets his hand raised after three rounds of putting on a clinic.

Mir via Unanimous Decision


Quinton "Rampage" Jackson vs. Matt "The Hammer" Hamill
light heavyweight

Does Hamill belong with the upper echelon of the light heavyweight division? He's going to find out against Jackson, and how he does could determine the likelihood of him getting a crack at the title. With stout clinch work, improving stand up, and brutal power, Hamill is not one to be taken lightly. Jackson, on the other hand, is all boxing, take down defense, and though it's been a while, nasty slams. For Jackson it hasn't been about ability as of late, but motivation. He admittedly hasn't been pushed mentally to fight since his showdown with Rashad Evans, and with his original opponent Thiago Silva scratched and replaced by Hamill, the question is, can Jackson find the desire to compete at the highest level?

When it comes to stand up, Jackson is a very technical boxer, with solid footwork and head movement, picking good angles, and a tough chin on top of it all. He's been susceptible to leg kicks in the past, as well as good wrestlers. He needs to keep this fight standing, and out of the clinch, where he's shown an inability to prevent knees, elbows, and trips. Hamill is a brute in the clinch, and hits hard, though he seems to just wing his punches from the outside, instead of setting them up, though his head movement is getting better. He needs to attack the base of Jackson, and close the distance to try and get the fight to the mat, or there's a good chance he'll have only his second KO loss on his record, as "Rampage" is not someone you want to trade in the pocket with.

Jackson is quicker to the punch, and hits plenty hard. The areas he is weak at, Hamill is modest at best, and doesn't possess the skills to truly exploit the holes Jackson has. Jackson weathers a rough patch early in the second, but for the most part cruises to a solid, if unspectacular decision victory.

Jackson via Unanimous Decision

MMA and me; day 120

Boxing boxing boxing! It's funny, when I first started at the gym, boxing was hardly my favorite. Now, I can't get enough! We covered the same stuff we did on Tuesday, with a slightly different wrinkle at the end. We started with the lead straight, into a roll-straight-hook, followed with the straight slip stop, jab slip/stop, roll-roll-straight-hook-straight. Next was the Guzman slip sequence, followed with a roll-straight-hook, roll-hook-straight, but then we added the wrinkle. There was one more roll, then a pivot off-body hook, then finish with a hard straight. So from the sequence on day 118, this was the added segment; roll-pivot off-body 3-2. We drilled the overall combo for two rounds each, finished with partner push ups, and partner leg throw downs. It was then on to jiu jitsu.

We worked on stretching for a bit, then we drilled one move for a good chunk of class, the snap arm bar from S-Mount. From the mount, post one of your legs out to the side, and slide your other knee up just above their head. With your arm on the side of the posted out leg, under hook their opposite side arm under the forearm, and grab the tricep. From here, lean forward and over the posted leg, swing your other leg over their head (keeping their arm hooked elbow pit to elbow pit) put your boot on with both feet, pinch your knees together, then pull down on the end of their arm while arching your hips until they tap. We finished off with 15-20 minutes of live grappling, and I worked a lot of starting from standing with Morgan to help him prepare for his tournament at the end of June. The guy is getting good, and is working hard. Hope I'm helping!

MMA and me; day 119

A kickboxing day working leg kicks...hooray. Class began with medicine ball drills, where we'd hold the ball in our lead hand while in our fighting stance, and then simulating a jab, threw it to our partner. We did this for a full round, did a round with our rear hand, and moved on to kicking. We started with low 10s, stepping to the outside and driving the shin down into the thigh, and then we moved on to low inside 9s, and I went back and forth between regular, and switch since both feel comfortable to me. The key to both of these kicks is making sure you get your step far enough to the outside that you're not stepping at them and leaving your head exposed, and leaning to the outside as you throw the kick to help stay out of counter punching territory. Next we worked skip kicks, starting with ten 10s, then 9, then 8, then 7, etc. Next were 9s, then we switched and the other guy would do the same, and if you finished before everyone else, you did sit ups until the class was done. We finished with medicine ball partner sit ups, and partner ab drills, so now my legs AND my abs are sore, woot!

Jiu jitsu was about working an awesome leg lock flow. First you break down your opponents guard, by posting your hands on their hips, leaning back, digging your knee into their tailbone, and elbows into their inner thigh. As their legs separate, reach back, and swim your hand under their calf, and drop to your hip, throwing your same side leg as you have your hand under their calf, over their leg. From there, scoot your butt towards theirs, and work your grip down the calf, towards the heel, until you can feel the top of their foot in your armpit. Use your opposite arm to post up on, look over that shoulder, and arch your back, keeping your other hand flat on your stomach, and hopefully driving your wrist bone into their Achilles tendon.. This should cause them to tap, and is called an Achilles lock. It is painful, but not dangerous. The following part of the flow wont be used all that often, because heel hooks are illegal in all but the highest level of competition. If the Achilles lock doesn't get a tap, swim your hand out and around their heel, drop to your side, and monkey grip your hands together. You then twist with your core towards them until they tap. This is very dangerous, so don't mess around with it! The next submission in the flow, is in the event that you can't get the Achilles lock. Say you're trying, and trying, but just can't get it; drop to your back, and push their shin away with the hand opposite the one wrapped around their leg, with that hand, grab across the top of their toes, and site up, as you scoot your but out, bringing your leg that is over the top of their legs, in closer. From here, swim the hand not grabbing the toes under that arm, and grab your own wrist, then proceed to attempt to, and I quote my coach, "Try and put his foot, in his butt". It is the motion you want to really torque that foot and ankle, getting the tap out, and now you've learned a toe hold! Lastly was a calf crusher on the end of the flow. If your opponent gets out of the toe hold, or you can't secure it, sit out even further, and sink your shin into the back of their knee, and get your legs behind you. Lean forward, using their own leg to compress their calf over your shin. It hurts like crazy and will get most people to tap out.

MMA and me; day 118

Wow, long lay off from the gym. One of our coaches pulled me out of boxing last Thursday to help prep one of his big guys for a grappling tournament. (Which he won!) Congrats to all the competitors, you guys are awesome!

Anyways, onto boxing yesterday, which was full of new stuff. We started off with a new sequence, and a new addition to our arsenal. It began with a straight, which we rolled off of, and then threw a straight-hook. From there we went to what I believe is called a slip/stop. As you slip a punch, you throw the same punch to the body, stopping your opponent from moving forward and pressuring you. So following the 3-2, it went straight slip/stop-jab slip/stop. Off the second slip/stop, we rolled twice, right into a 2-3-2. After that, we added the Guzman slip sequence, and off the last straight into a 2-3 then roll into a 3-2, pivot and restart. I really liked this sequence, as it forces you to be economical with your movements, and also very fluid and smooth. The final sequence ends up looking like this 2-roll-2-3-2 slip/stop-1-slip/stop-roll-roll -2-3-2-slip 1-6-2-3-2-slip 2-body 3-3-2-roll-2-3-roll-3-2. We finished off with flutter kicks, scissor kicks, and planks, then it was time to grapple.

We worked drills for the first half of class with stretching, shoulder rolls, turtle backs, and then we worked some technique. We mostly focused on arm bars; first the snap arm bar from side control. Pushing on their elbow that is away from you creates space so you can under hook their other arm with your head side arm, making sure to get as deep as you can. From there, flick your leg side foot up to their head, keeping your weight over their abdomen, and sweeping your head side leg around their head, and pinching your knees together as you lean back into the arm bar. Second was an arm bar from S-mount. From mount, keep chest pressure, and let it up for just a second, so you can pass their arm across their chest, and pressure back, trapping the arm. Next, slide your knee on the same side as their trapped arm up just above their head, and point your other leg straight out to 3 o'clock, pressing on their chest with your hamstring. From there, under hook their trapped arm with your outside arm, and reach your other arm as far across their body as you can, which then lets you rock back into the arm bar. Making sure you are elbow pit deep, pinching your knees together, and pulling their arm towards your head, instead of your chest, and you will get the tap. Thanks to Coach Troy and Coach Wise for their help! I'm getting better everyday because of you guys!

MMA and me; day 117

Boxing and the basics. We kicked things off by working the simple 1-2. I was working with Jathan, and he made sure I kept my lead hand up, and forced me to work on circling off after the combo. Next we added the hook, to make it a 1-2-3. I was getting better at keeping my hand up, but I was having trouble circling off, and I was also looping my hook a little bit. I need to keep my elbows in more on the 3. We then switched to our counter, the 2-3-2, and this is where I have a lot of trouble. I'm not sitting down enough on my initial 2, and it affects my balance on my 3, which in turn prevents me from turning in and finishing the last 2 properly. Troy and Jay helped me be aware of this, and correct it as well. We finished with a combination of everything we worked on; 1-2-slip-2-3-2. I was getting better at smoothing things out eventually, and thanks to Jay pushing the pace, and Troy giving me pointers and making sure I was relaxing and breathing, I felt much better towards the end of class. Then we finished with upper body work outs, more specifically partner push ups. They suck, and that's it. It was jiu jitsu time.

We went through our normal stretching drills, and then got into shoulder rolls, and granby rolls. From there, we worked partner shoulder roll drills where a standing partner would attempt a hook pass by going elbow deep and as they tried to throw your leg over your head, you roll across your shoulders into a guard position with your right leg on their hip, and your left leg behind their right leg. You then push on their hip, pull with your other leg, and pull their near ankle with your hand, and trip them to the ground. You then swim your bottom side hand around their leg to a C block and get to side control. We then worked this drill by ourselves against the wall, going from being up on our shoulders and backs to the wall, to facing the wall by rolling across our shoulders, to being back to the original position back across the shoulders. Next was the run and roll drill, ending in the triangle choke, which it is very important to swivel all the way across to 3 o'clock or 9 o'clock so you're cutting the angle properly and getting the choke tight. We next went to the arm bar-triangle-omoplata flow, and finished with a free flow of the triangle-reverse triangle-kimura-straight arm bar-cutting arm bar-reverse triangle-triangle-arm bar in various combinations.

Thanks to Jay, Coach Troy, Coach Wise, and Speedy for helping me out, you guys are great!

MMA and me; day 116

Another weekend in the books, and another Monday to look forward to. Kickboxing was a lot of fun, and we worked a lot of punch-kick combos. First was a 1-2-rear leg knee. I kept losing my balance until one of our coaches came over and told me it was because I wasn't using my shoulders to twist and counter balance the thrust from the knee. Thanks Troy! Next we worked a 1-3-low 10. This felt really strange, because of the two different punches from the same side. The key is to make sure you don't drop your hand after the jab, and make sure the hook is clean, and not thrown from way out wide. Next was a 1-rear leg knee-4. So you throw the jab, and immediately bring the rear leg up for the knee, bringing it down so your stance is in southpaw if you're an orthodox fighter, and then bring the former rear hand/current lead hand across in a short, but powerful, lead hook. You can't try too hard to make the 4 strong, because you don't have a lot of space. Keep it short, and you'll deliver plenty of power. Lastly, we worked a 1-2-step out 3,low 10. After the straight, step to the outside while keeping your head low, almost like a roll, and as you get out to the side, lean back over and throw the 10. We planked for three minutes, and it was grapple time.

Like every Monday, it was just a class about grappling live, and I managed to make it over an hour plus only getting submitted once, and not feeling too winded at all. I'm getting much better at staying relaxed, especially while in a bad position, and I'm also better at being calm while stuck in a deep choke and not tapping immediately. I love jiu jitsu!

MMA and me; day 114/115

Sorry for the lateness. The site has been down, and I had to figure a new way to get this up.

Day 114:
Tuesday was exactly the same as last Thursday (day 112) except the cadence was up to full speed. Grappling was the same as well. I was off Wednesday, but managed to make it in last night for both classes.

Day 115:
So we worked on some new stuff last night in boxing. We started a new sequence, with the first stack being a 2-3-2-shoulder catch-hook catch-2-3-2-roll counter. Next was a slip-slip-roll counter-catch four. We finished off by adding on the high low counter, and then step pivot right back to the top, so the whole thing looked like this; 2-3-2-shoulder catch-hook catch-2-3-2-roll-2-3-2-jab slip-straight slip-roll-2-3-2-catch 2-2-3-2-body catch-2-3-2-straight catch-2-3-2-hook catch-2-3-2-high catch-low parry-2-3-2-step pivot. I'm starting to be able to get my hand speed up there, and am feeling much more confident in my overall boxing! Reagan put us through some more hellish core drills, ending with a plank competition. I almost made it to my goal of three minutes, but fell just short. I liked the way we ended class, and was feeling great going into grappling.

We started with our stretching, and worked on various grappling drills, like bridging, headstands, triangle solo drills, and then we went on to work technique. It was all based around attacking the back, and was exactly what we did on day 111 last Wednesday. Sorry for the laziness and forcing you to go back and re read old posts, but if you've stuck with me this far, hopefully you wont mind. Have a great weekend!

MMA and me; day 113

Another Monday, and another day to be glad I'm back in the gym. Kickboxing got started with throwing skip 10s into a kick shield for an entire two minute round. After the other person went, it was time to throw skip 9s for a whole round. This was incredibly taxing on my cardio, and forces you to really pay attention to technique, because as you get tired, you get sloppy. Next, we moved on to altering knees to the body from the Thai clinch for a slightly longer round, I think it was four or five minutes, but just focused on the skip knees. As the round wore on, the clinch started to get looser, so I had to keep readjusting my elbows and keep it tight. We followed that with a rear push kick to a mid 10, and I actually felt pretty good at this one. I got better at bringing my leg back after the teep, and then stepping across while driving the leg into the pad. The final drill was a lead push kick to mid 9, and this was a bit tougher. I usually like throwing left kicks more than rights, but this was different. In the previous drill, after the teep, you bring that leg back behind you. In this one, the leg stays in front of you, and you throw a switch 9. It just took some adjustment from the previous round, but started to feel better towards the end. We finished with core exercises and it was time to grapple.

We continued doing the same as we have been doing lately, and picked a partner and rolled for three minutes, switching to a new partner after each round. I was tired by the end, but not gasping for breath, and I'm proud to say I was only tapped once. Nice arm bar Phuong! All in all a good day of classes, and Monday is rapidly becoming my favorite day of the week!

MMA and me; day 112

Boxing was another day of slowed cadence, with a few new wrinkles. We started with the 2-3-2 into the catch 4, then the high/low counter. From there, we worked on pivoting into restarting the combo, where you step forward with your lead leg, and pivot to the side of your rear leg as you bring it around. Next we added on a body catch-body catch counter (6-2-3-2)-slip-slip-roll counter, then pivot and restart. The final stack was a catch 4 off the previous roll, and then one more roll counter, pivot and restart. The final combo looked like this; 2-3-2-catch 4-high/low counter-body catch-body catch counter-slip-slip-roll counter-catch 4-roll counter-pivot restart. It's total of 39 punches, and there's no stopping. The nice thing is that we were going at half speed, and it really makes you focus on flowing everything together, and making notice of the little mistakes you make. We finished with Reagan's core exercises, which I really dig, and then it was time for jiu jitsu.

We opened with the usual stretching and grappling drills, then moved onto working rolling in and out of guard across our shoulders. Next was the run and roll drill, which is helpful to help getting out of back-side control, and into guard. Lastly, we worked on the entangled arm submission, which really hammers home why you should never post your arm on the mat. If your opponent is in your guard, and you have an under hook, they will usually pummel for an under hook of their own. This is great, and it lets you entangle the arm by overhooking the arm, and getting your hand as close to your opposite shoulder as you can. From there, shrimp up to the hip opposite the entangled arm, and try to shift their elbow from the outside of your body, to the inside. From here, use your free arm to control their free arm, and lock your clinching hand on your other wrist. Slide your hips back in to finish the submission until they tap, and you've just completed an entangled arm. It hurts like heck, and is really quick when you can nail all the little parts.

MMA and me; day 111

Kick boxing was a fun mix of kicks and punches. We started off with throwing a low 10 and having it checked, a low 9 checked, high 10 blocked, and a high 9 blocked. We moved on to a jab-low 10, with the punch being parried, and kick being checked, then the person on defense would counter with a low 10 of their own that was checked. Lastly, we threw a 1-2-3-low 10-3, all of which were either blocked or checked. The last one was tough because I kept landing in southpaw stance after the low 10. It's important to use them checking the kick to push your leg back into orthodox as you throw the hook, which will probably connect on the jaw because they'll be busy checking the low 10. We finished with partner ab drills and it was on to grappling.

In jiu jitsu, we worked on attacking from the back. First you make sure to get your hooks in, then we worked the seat belt grip, where one arm is over the shoulder and around their chin or neck grabbing their opposite shoulder, while the other arm is under the arm pit grabbing their wrist on that side. From there, you pull the arm from under the arm pit, and swim it behind their head grabbing their other shoulder, then slip the other hand over your bicep of the arm you just maneuvered behind their head. The next bit covered if they pulled one of your hooks gets pulled off and they try to roll to that side. First you figure four their leg on the side you still have a hook on, and switch choking arms. This should sink the choke in deep, because as they roll, they'll most likely lean their head up, and leave their neck exposed. Lastly, we worked on a sub if they don't leave their neck exposed. If they tuck their chin, and don't give it up, make sure you keep that figure four around their leg and shrimp up to your hip. Pull the choking arm out, and bring it under their top side arm pit and behind their head. With your other arm, reach around for an S grip, and arch your back, pulling their head towards you until they tap. It's called a twister, and it does not feel good. Great class yesterday, thanks to my coaches!

MMA and me; day 110

Boxing was another day of slower cadence, and we added a new bit to work on. We started with a 2-3-2 into a catch four, and then a high-low counter, where you catch a 2 high on your left side, pop their jab down with your right, and go straight into the 2-3-2 for the counter. We then added some body and head movement in the form of catching two body shots into a 6-2-3-2, slipping twice, and then a roll counter. We finished by adding one more catch four, and a final roll counter. The nice thing about this sequence, is that you can keep at it indefinitely. From the final roll counter, you can go right back into the catch four that kicked the whole thing off. It ends up looking like this; 2-3-2-catch four-high low counter-body catch-body catch-6-2-3-2-slip-slip-roll counter-catch four-roll counter. That's a total of forty punches! It was a fantastic sequence, and I plan on working on it a lot. We finished with Reagan putting us through a different set of core exercises than we usually do. It was pretty taxing, but it was nice to change things up.

We started jiu jitsu with some stretching and then grappling drills. We moved onto partner drills where first we worked on passing around the feet into high judo from side to side. The key is to keep both hands on the mat, one on each side of their hips, and your feet as far back as you can. As soon as your feet get far enough out, you almost baseball slide into high judo, getting your knee up near the ear, and keeping your ribcage pressed to theirs. We worked on swinging arm bar drills, peacocking triangles, lunge guard passes, and snap arm bars from mount. I need to work a lot on the last one. I have the flexibility, but the technique is still lacking. Getting better though! Quite sore today, but it's a good sore.

MMA and me; day 109

A band new week, and right back to kicking bottom in the gym. Kickboxing was low kick day. We worked 10s first, making sure to step across as you throw the kick, pivoting on your front foot, and really opening your hips as your bring it over, and digging it in. Next was the low inside 9, which is thrown a bit differently. First, you have to make sure you step across to the right (left if you're a southie freak :) ) and the majority of the time, you're going to connect with the top of your foot, with more of a slapping than a thudding. This is fine, since the only way you're digging into the inner thigh is if you get in close enough to get punched in the mouth, and I think that's counter productive. Also, make sure to lean back as you throw the kick, to help get more extension with the leg, and create distance between their fists and your head. Our next drill combined the two kicks, and added movement, and throwing the kicks at odd intervals. We started at one end of the gym, and would throw a mid 9, and then our partner would take a step back, while adjusting the pad to the other side and we'd throw a mid 10, readjust mid 9, readjust mid 10, repeat up and down the gym for three minutes, and then switch. We then knocked out a five minute round of skippies, and then a round each of flutter kicks, plank position, and leg raises. Sore abs awaited me, but I had grappling to get to.

It was the same jiu jitsu class that we had the last week, but to go over it again is pretty simple. We grappled for an hour straight. We partnered up, rolled for three minutes, and then switched to a new partner. It was fun, and I managed to not only get a ton of different submissions, but wasn't once submitted myself, though Marcus and Irv had me in a couple of really tight spots. (Shout out!) I really liked this version of grappling for long periods, but I'm jonesin for a shark tank. Maybe next Monday.