Arte Suave Elite Events Have Jiu Jitsu Practitioners Grappling For A Cause
On Saturday, March 20, 2021, Arte Suave Elite will be holding its third event at the UFC Gym Folsom in Folsom, California beginning at 2 p.m. PST, which features nearly 30 gi and no gi super fights. Tickets are available online here and doors open at 1 p.m. If you can’t make it in person you can purchase the livestream PPV here. A full list of the matches can be found below and the event will begin with the youth matches and work their way up the list to the black belt matches. You can find details regarding the rules for each match here.
Arte Suave Elite was created by Alfredo Moscoso in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic in large part due to people in his area having to travel quite a bit in order to find jiu jitsu competitions. It started as just a joke about starting his own promotion, but after some encouragement from his friend, Kelsey Carter, he eventually decided to take the leap. The promotion is run by Alfredo, Kelsey, and Justin Wall, and the goal of the promotion has been to be competitor centered. Kelsey told me, “We want to take care of our athletes while giving them the opportunity to showcase their skill sets. We’re locally owned and operated and have partnered with some amazing sponsors that allow us to continue to run these events.”
One thing that makes Arte Suave Elite unique is they hold an event each month and select a different non-profit for each event to support by donating 10% of their profits from their PPV, ticket sales, merchandise and sponsors. They do not require the competitors to sell tickets or raise money themselves in order to keep the process simple and not put extra pressure on the competitors. For their first event in January they donated to Destiny Rescue, which helps rescue children from human sex-trafficking and reintegrate those affected back into society. For their February event the non-profit was Casa Shalom, an orphanage in Guatemala that takes in children who have been orphaned, abandoned, abused, or severely neglected by their families and in turn provides them with education, nutritious meals, and opportunities to live in a safe environment. For the upcoming event on March 20th the non-profit will be Fostering Jiu Jitsu, which funds youth from ages 5 through 26 to train Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and is focused on foster care, group home, and low income communities.
Their hopes for the future of Arte Suave Elite includes more events and larger donations to give to the non-profits at each event. In May they are taking the show on the road and heading down to San Pedro, CA to showcase some of the amazing Southern Cali talent. They also hope to eventually hold qualifier events to allow for more people to compete and get on their pro cards.
FULL MATCH LIST
Black Belt Matches
Manny Moreno (Ares BJJ) v Albert Romo (Gracie Humaita)
Lyzz Mitriovic (Precision Jiu Jitsu Academy) v Emilly Vasconcelos (Atos HQ)
Manny Rocha (Strive Jiu Jitsu Academy) v Israel Tiki Aquino (Asylum Fight Team White Rhino)
Dom Hoskins (Dominat10n Martial Arts) v Andrew Kerfoot (Nexus)
Brown Belt Matches
Ricky Briceno (Atos HQ) v Joseph Zube (Gamebreed/Baret Submissions)
Robert Chao (Milestone Martial Arts) v Albert Tapia (10th Planet Sacramento)
Antonio Velasquez (Guerilla Jiu Jitsu) v Donny Ortego (Texas Punishment Crew)
Breylor Grout (Legion AJJ) v Nick Pica (New Creation)
Purple Belt Matches
Jason Wong (Team Alpha BJJ) v Sebastian de Ochoa (Nick Diaz Academy)
Logan Farr (Precision Jiu Jitsu Academy) v Brian Ashkinaz (Ares BJJ)
Barbara Quiroz (Trujitsu) v Ashley Nichols (Gracie Barra Ottawa)
Michael McNeil (Precision Jiu Jitsu Academy) v Jose Maravilla (Bruddas BJJ)
Eder Flores (East Sac BJJ) v Alec Sachs (Atos HQ)
Roman Baker (Trujitsu) v Daniel Munoz (Stockton Jiu Jitsu)
Meredith Palmerlee (Strive Jiu Jitsu Academy) v Bailey Luttrell (Sabre Jiu Jitsu)
Uzoma Onwumere (ZR Team CA) v Carson Santos Streicher (Ares BJJ)
Erin Quillen (Checkmat Fight Studio) v Lucy Campos (Paragon Jiu Jitsu)
Josh Jenson (University of Grappling) v Jimmy Zhen (10th Planet Daly City)
Blue Belt Matches
Rafael Vega (Nine 16/Precision) v Sohan Kandadi (Legion AJJ)
Adolfo De La Cruz (Precision Jiu Jitsu Academy) v Jakari Harris (New Creation)
Zoe Brandon (Precision Jiu Jitsu Academy) v Victoria Alva (Team Alpha BJJ)
Andrew Meckley (Mat Time) v Kody Palen (Ares BJJ)
Jayden Herrera (Precision Jiu Jitsu Academy) v Tanner Norris (Team Dumdumaya)
Anthony Uchytil (Gracie Fighter) v Skyler St. Pierre (Nexus)
Johnny Smith (Precision Jiu Jitsu Academy) v Adrian Ocampo (New Creation)
Youth Matches
Dania Silva (ZMata) v Karina Morales (Team Maxwell)
Josie Perez (Trujitsu) v Coco Castillo (Kola BJJ)
Ally Heckley (Precision Jiu Jitsu Academy) v Emery Cole (Rio Bravo Jiu Jitsu)
Jonah Bucaojit (New Creation) v Diego Cardenas (Rio Bravo Jiu Jitsu)
