As we find ourselves underway in week two of the TGGL, we’re looking forward to some new faceoffs, and perhaps even some rivalries develop as the points begin to stack up, and grapplers start to distinguish themselves from the pack. In this series we’ll be taking a look and recapping some of the matches from the TGGL lightweight division.
The first match of the evening would see Tackle’s Tyler Wittreich faceoff against Levitate’s Mason Stanley. The two are presently leading the lightweight division in points, so this stands to be a notable match as both are looking to distinguish themselves even further from the rest of the divisional pack.
Both fighters opt to start with collar ties, seemingly looking to secure the first takedown and some early points in the match up, and after a brief scramble, we would see Wittreich remain largely on top, with Wittreich working to secure a reverse triangle.
Though Tyler holds a dominant position, we see Mason manage to fight his way out of the front headlock/triangle position, however in doing so, he gives up back control to Tyler Wittreich.
From back control, it was only a brief moment in time before we see Wittrech first isolate Stanley’s arm, and then roll over into an armbar for the victory and the points.
The next match of the evening would find John Soltis cross paths with Greg Burger. While Soltis already has had a couple matches in the TGGL, this would be Burger’s first attempt at league play, as he is participating as an alternate, due to a league call off, a consistent theme in this first series of TGGL league play.
Both fighters choose to stand up and look for a takedown, as opposed to pulling guard, a tactic that we have not seen play out well for many contestants in the TGGL so far, as TGGL rules and judging favors a more direct and aggressive approach.
We would see Soltis be first to the takedown party, however Burger answers his takedown with submission attempts! First a guillotine attempt on Soltis’ initial shot, followed by a triangle as both men were settling into guard.
Though Greg had solid attempts, neither submission sunk and Soltis battled back into better position, breifly holding back before Burger manages to wriggle out and get back to his feet. A scramble ensues before the referees center the two men back up before continuing the match.
After initially attacking a leg entry on Greg, we see John transition smoothly to a back control of sorts before locking up a rear naked choke for the win and the points.
The next match of the evening would pit Control Martial Arts’ Tj Stuber vs Epifanio Peterson of Academy 440 against one another.
This match would see Peterson drop down for a leg entry as soon as the match was underway, though he quickly abandons it as Stuber is quick to plant his foot to the mat and starts to wrestle up.
After the initial guard play, we’d see the two fighters stand and exchange, vying for hand and head position, and hoping for a takedown here, before Peterson once again drops down on the leg of Stuber.
After the entrance, a roll ensues, as both men now looking for a leglock and the points. Though no leglock would come of this barrage, both men earned points here for the sheer amount of submissions attempted.
After a tornado of submission attempts from both men, they opt to stand back up, choosing to reengage this time from their feet.
Though we would see the match end in yet another leg entanglement, we would also see it go the length of the 6 minute round, where after judge’s decision, where Epifanio would take home the victory and the points.
The next match of the evening would take place with Marty Rehor of Tackle Jiujitsu facing off against Bobby Berry, also out of Tackle.
This match would see a lot of time standing and wrestling, as both competitors favor a more wrestling base, certainly more so than that of the previous match (Stuber vs Peterson).
It would be Rehor however that would eventually take the match to the mat first, snapping Berry down and then weighing heavily in front headlock position.
After turtling, and then rolling into side control, Berry manages to escape back to his feet before immediately firing another shot, successfully taking Rehor down into his own side control, however Marty immediately finds Bobby’s arm and looks to start isolating it.
Rehor manages to secure the kimura, however not the submission, choosing instead to use the leverage of the kimura to sweep Berry back into side control, all the while still maintaining control of the arm being kimura’d.
After several close calls with a kimura, we see Berry manage to fight back out again, getting to his feet before once again engaging in a stand up game of wrestling with Rehor.
Berry would once again shoot in for a takedown, this time coming up short, and being forced to adapt into a sort of guard pull, where we see Rehor capitalize, securing dominant position, first by way of side control, before transitioning to mount, and then back to front headlock before once again transitioning to mount.
This time, mount would prove inescapable for Bobby Berry, as Rehor would secure a kimura grip on Berry, and finish via Americana, securing the victory and the points.
Another great night of TGGL submission grappling matches in the books! What did you think? Were there any upsets that you didn’t expect? Any rematches that you can’t wait to see? Let us know down below in the comments! And, as always, thank you for grappling!
