IBJJF Houston Open 2022: Master 3, Blue Belt, Heavy Weight: Match 2 (Finals)

IBJJF Houston Open 2022 Master 3, Blue Belt, Heavy Weight Division Match 2: Lenny Delligatti vs. Guillermo Hernandez The match began with 12 seconds of heavy grip fighting. Gripping and stripping back and forth. (At 0:19) I finally achieved the stable grip position that I wanted: a cross-collar grip with my left hand and sleeve control with my right hand. (At 0:24) I executed my favorite opening move: a collar drag takedown. It started off well. I aimed for his right instep with my left foot to stop him from posting forward. Unfortunately, my left leg ended up too far across. Guillermo reacted well. Instead of landing in turtle guard or on his right side, he rolled to his back (at 0:26). By the time I retracted my left leg out from under me, I found myself in his open guard (instead of to his side where I would be at the end of a good collar drag takedown). I earned the 2 points for that takedown. Little did I know at that moment that those 2 points would prove to be decisive for my victory. Now, I had to pass his guard. It shouldn't have been too hard. He never fully closed. All I had to do was step over his right leg and begin the knee slice pass (at 0:31). But my right knee never made it through. Guillermo did a great job blocking it with his left foot (visible at 0:35). (At 0:44) He recovered, and I had to step over his leg again. This pattern continued for much of the match. A lot of intense scrambling. I was expending a lot of energy. (At 2:07) My right knee finally made it past his legs and reached the mat. From here, I would simply execute a baseball slide into side control. Or so I thought. Again, Guillermo reacted well. He didn't bother fighting to hold on to my right foot. (At 2:12) He rolled left into turtle guard. But I had no problem with that. I'm at home at the top of turtle. I would now begin working my favorite submission from this position: a Gerbi Choke. But I never had the chance. (At 2:15) Guillermo did what I thought would be impossible: He began to stand up from turtle guard while my torso was draped across his back. (At 2:17) He popped his head out. We were now both back on our feet. All of the work I did in the first two minutes had amounted to nothing. We would have to start the grip fight all over again. But now I was running on fumes. Guillermo, by contrast, was relentless. He immediately secured a cross-collar grip with his left hand. (At 2:20) I managed to strip his grip and stiff arm his left hand down. I secured my own cross-collar grip. Now I was ready to execute another collar drag takedown and earn 2 more points. But Guillermo knew it was coming. He never gave me the chance to execute it. (At 2:24) he pulled guard and closed up. Now I would have to break open his guard and attempt another pass: something that I had struggled for 2 minutes to achieve back when I still had energy left in the tank. Guillermo's endurance surprised me. He didn't rest in closed guard. (At 2:32) he shot his left leg over my right shoulder and went for a leg triangle. I immediately stacked him to defend. (At 2:43) Guillermo began working a Tripod Sweep. I maintained my base and resisted. This battle continued for almost a minute. (At 3:39) Guillermo abandoned the sweep and closed up guard again. Now my tank was utterly empty. I didn't have the energy to break open his guard. So I opened his lapels and pinned his shoulders to the mat with my fists. (At 3:41) I looked up at the clock. 1 minute and 23 seconds left in the match. I had 2 points from my very first takedown. Guillermo had 0. I used the only strategy available to me in my depleted state: I stalled; I had to hold him. I knew the referee would penalize me for "lack of combativeness." But it didn't matter. It would take 4 penalties for me to be disqualified. And there wasn't enough time left on the clock for that. (At 4:25) The ref issued the penalty I was expecting. (At 4:46) Guillermo looked at the clock. 22 seconds left. He made his move. Another leg triangle attempt. (At 4:49) I executed a pressure pass. My confidence began to grow. Surely I could hold him for 19 seconds. (At 4:51) Guillermo rolled left into turtle guard. I turned into a North-South position, draped fully across his back. This time, I wouldn't let him stand up. I was wrong. (At 4:59) With 8 seconds left on the clock, Guillermo got to his feet and popped his head out...again. He immediately secured a cross-collar grip with his right hand and executed a collar-drag takedown. But he didn't stabilize long enough to earn the 2 points. (At 5:03) I grabbed his head and his right arm and attempted a sloppy takedown. Guillermo again reacted well: he circled to his left and took my back...and got his hooks in (with 1 second left on the clock). Unfortunately for Guillermo, he needed to stabilize in that position for 3 seconds to earn the 4 points for a back-take. Instead, I won by 2 points for my collar drag takedown at the start of the match.