Thor and Freak Bros - Ultimate Mat Warriors 2
Jon “Thor” Blank wins $2K and the welterweight belt at Ultimate Mat Warriors 2
Ultimate Mat Warriors 2 was held on September 9, 2017 at the San Diego Performing Arts Center.
The grappling event included a 16-man welterweight (170 lb) tournament for $2,000 and a custom belt, as well as 13 superfights. 10 preliminary superfights opened up the night, which then proceeded into the main card welterweight tournament. The last three main event superfights were used to split up the rounds of the tournament, allowing the competitors a bit more time to recuperate before their next round matches.
After securing four submissions, three in regulation and one in the first round of overtime, Jon “Thor” Blank, a purple belt training out of 10th Planet Bethlehem, was crowned the Ultimate Mat Warriors Welterweight Champion, taking home a belt and $2,000 in prize money for his efforts. Blank secured wins over brown and black belts on his way to winning the belt, with his head coaches Zach Maslany and JM Holland coaching him from the corner.
Check out highlights of his finishes in the video below.
10th Planet Bethlehem is also home to the 15 year old prodigy Grace Gundrum, who secured an impressive Swedish twister finish in the co-main event superfight of the evening over Zoey Chiles, right before the start of the tournament semi-finals.
Check out the highlight video to include Grace Gundrum’s twister submission win:
This marks the second Ultimate Mat Warriors Pro Invitational event, created and run by 10th Planet Freak brothers Geo “Freakahzoid” Martinez and Richie “Boogeyman” Martinez, along with partners Nate Fort, Scott Haller, and Bill Crawford. Geo and Richie are the head coaches and owners of the 10th Planet Freaks schools, which include the 10th Planet San Diego, 10th Planet Oceanside, and 10th Planet Spring Valley locations. Like many 10th Planet events, the rule set was based on EBI rules with 10 minute regulation rounds followed by up to three rounds of overtime if needed.
Mat Therapy Life and From Nothing to Something handled live broadcasting for the event, with Manolo Hernandez on the mic as the announcer. For only being their second event, the graphics and live broadcast were extremely impressive and professional and included lots of neon colors and lighting, in typical Freaks fashion. All graphic design credit for the event goes to Jacob Lee, a 10th Planet Freaks student. It was obvious how much time and effort was put into the production of this event, and Richie made sure to walk around and check in on spectators to ensure everyone was having a good time.
Event sponsors included companies such as Phalanx Athletics, LEaO OPTICS, Proven Nutrition, Kremer Insurance, The Tipsy Crow, Rolsom BJJ, North Park Soap Co., TC1Gel, and Datsusara.
You can watch a replay of the event here. Check out the full event results below.
The next Ultimate Mat Warriors Pro Invitational will be for the heavyweights at 215 lbs and up, and will likely be held in January 2018.
ULTIMATE MAT WARRIORS 2 FULL RESULTS
PRELIMINARY SUPERFIGHTS
Tyler Vankill (Baret Submissions) v. Steve Flathers (Victory MMA)
Vankill – arm triangle in regulation
Ricard Rea (Alliance East Lake) v. Joey Hauss (Jean Jacques Machado)
Hauss – heel hook in regulation
Sloan Clymer (10th Planet Freaks) v. Daniel Robledo (Baret Submissions)
Clymer – overtime winner
JR Ramos (Victory MMA) v. Alan Sanchez (10th Planet San Mateo)
Sanchez – baratoplata in regulation
Ronnie La Bella (10th Planet Freaks) v. Mike Bravo (UFC Gym LBC)
La Bella – heel hook in regulation
Austin Baker (Gracie Barra) v. Diego Vazquez (Carlson Gracie)
Vazquez – overtime winner
Kevin Melendrez (MC BJJ Club) v. Jay Jay Wilson (Alliance San Diego)
Wilson – kneebar in regulation
Angel Cruz (10th Planet Freaks) v. Mike Flach (Millenium MMA)
Flach – overtime winner
Anthony Aguilera (New Breed Academy) v. Carl Boudro (Barum BJJ)
Aguilera – overtime winner
Christian Aguilera (10th Planet Monster Squad) v. Kevin Crane (Gracie Morumbi)
Crane – heel hook in regulation
WELTERWEIGHT (170LB) TOURNAMENT
First Round Matches
Stephen Martinez (Peerless Jiu Jitsu) v. Nathan Murphy (HONU BJJ) (San Diego)
Martinez – arm triangle choke in regulation
Jon “Thor” Blank (10th Planet Bethlehem) v. Damien Nitkin (Dunham BJJ) (Las Vegas)
Blank – ham sandwich/calf slicer in regulation
Sergio Rios (99 BJJ) (Brazil) v. Mike Carpenter (10th Planet Ann Arbor)
Rios – arm triangle choke in regulation
David Zamora (10th Planet Freaks) v. Tito Castro (Tavares BJJ) (Mexico)
Zamora – heel hook in regulation
Piter Frank (Alliance BJJ SD) (Brazil) v. James Stockdale (10th Planet Walnut Creek)
Stockdale – winner in overtime, however Stockdale was unable to move on to the quarter finals due to injury
Dom Hoskins (Revolution BJJ) (San Diego) v. Chase Davis (Nice Guys) (Kentucky)
Davis – heel hook in regulation
Josh Sapinoso (10th Planet Freaks) v. Noah Tillis (Tillis BJJ)
Tillis – flying armbar in regulation
Issa Able (One Love Martial Arts) (AZ) v. Waseam Dannaoui (Ribeiro Jiu Jitsu)
Able – heel hook in regulation
Quarter Finals
Martinez v. Blank
Blank – winner in overtime (armbar from back triangle position)
Rios v. Zamora
Zamora – winner in overtime
Frank v. Davis
Davis – heel hook in regulation
Tillis v. Able
Able – winner in overtime
Semi-Finals
Blank v. Zamora
Blank – heel hook in regulation
Davis v. Able
Davis – heel hook in regulation
Finals
Blank v. Davis
Blank – armbar from back triangle position in regulation
MAIN CARD SUPERFIGHTS
Isaiah Wright (Easton BJJ) v. Kyle Chambers (10th Planet Freaks)
Chambers – heel hook in regulation
Grace Gundrum (10th Planet Bethlehem) v. Zoey Chiles (Alliance East Lake)
Gundrum – twister in regulation
Scott Epstein (10th Planet West LA) v. Alfredo Barum (Barum BJJ)
Epstein – Peruvian necktie in regulation
