Polaris Professional Jiu Jitsu Invitational Results

The biggest takeaway of this event was a re-confirmation that Keenan Kai-James Cornelius is a grappling superstar.

The second was that this Polaris event really pulled everything off - the stream was smooth, the camera angles informed and well timed, the venue was terrific and the matches flowed as best as could be expected for a first event.

The third is that Garry Tonon is also awesome and so is Marcin Held for going straight into the leglock battle with a superior grappler.

Michelle Nicolini also has the best footlocks in the women's division and Angelica Galvao knew it. Galvao kept her legs out of trouble early on, but nearly gave up an early triangle, choosing instead to give up mount. She got out of it and couldn't stay on top, so settled for the open double guard. There, Nicolini inverted and seized a toehold super-fast and achieved the tap very quickly. It was a patient set-up and a fast seizure of the opportunity for Nicolini.

AJ Agazarm looked like a new grappler out there against the one-note gameplan Oliver Geddes put on. Geddes has terrific defense, but looked too heavily for his right side half guard game at the wrong moments. Agazarm kept spinning over and nearly got several armbars on him throughout the 13ish minute match. The final set-up was a vicious biceps crush and/or possible wristlock and Geddes had to tap fast.

Pablo Popovitch took several risks in a match against the spirited Eduardo Rios and one of them really paid off with a back take that let him angle for the rear naked choke for several long minutes. Rios was outsized and probably outskilled, yet never gave up and managed to work his way into a near-triangle and eventual escape from the back mount. It was a good performance from both and Rios's step in on short notice was brave and should earn him another shot at a good opponent in the next event.

Mike Fowler and Eduardo Telles had a solid, although not always fast-paced performance. Telles appeared to be under the impression that there might be overtime in the offing. Fowler had the better of the grappling, but couldn't progress to anything truly dangerous while Telles took his requisite shots at kneebars and the like.

Kit Dale put on a smart performance with a couple health problems hindering him from full athletic performance. Victor Silveiro put a ton of pressure on him early and Dale wisely slowed down the pace until he was ready to come up top and really engage in the last portion of the match. Silveiro stayed out of trouble and the match ended in a standing grip-battle.

Max Campos had the better of Darragh O'Conaill throughout the match, although neither truly passed the other's guard. Campos used his de la Riva and reverse de la Riva game to sweep O'Conaill multiple times in the match. Darragh utilized his single leg X-guard and ankle grips to sweep Max back, but didn't get as far into the guard passing battle as Max did.

My stream was smooth and always in high definition. I know T.P. Grant had problems with buffering, but the chat over in HashtagJack showed others around the world with zero problems. I suppose experiences may differ, but I do believe this to be a success technology wise.

Quick Results:

Keenan Cornelius taps Dean Lister with a reverse triangle from the back at roughly 9:15 into their match.

Garry Tonon heelhooked Marcin Held at roughly 3:30.

Pablo Popovitch and Eduardo "Teta" Rios grappled to a draw.

Mike Fowler and Eduardo Telles grappled to a draw.

AJ Agazarm tapped Oliver Geddes with a bicep crush/possible wristlock at the 13ish minute mark.

Kit Dale and Victor Silverio grappled to a draw.

Michelle Nicolini grabbed a toehold on Angelica Galvao around 11 minutes into the match.

Max Campos and Darragh O'Conaill grappled to a draw.