Wrestling & MMA

SubStars Miami delivers grappling super fights and celeb sumo wrestling on the same card

Cool show Friday, Feb. 21 at The Fillmore Miami Beach at Jackie Gleason Theater next to the Miami Beach Convention Center.

Unique in concept and delivery.

Photo By Jim Varsallone

SubStars Miami — organized by Alex Kruger-Dobrota, a jiu jitsu grappler and U.S. Marine Corps combat veteran — featured top competitors from jiu jitsu, grappling and MMA as well as champion and celebrity sumo wrestlers.

Photo By Jim Varsallone
Photo By Jim Varsallone
Photo By Jim Varsallone

A grappling super fight series opened the event, followed by a celebrity sumo wrestling tournament (with 600-pound sumo champ Yamamoto, Japan collegiate sumo champ Takeshi and UFC stars Curtis Razor Blaydes and Anthony Rumble Johnson).

Photo By Jim Varsallone
Photo By Jim Varsallone

Here are some of my videos of sumo wrestling instruction, warmup and action at SubStars.

Main event style grappling super fights closed the show.

Those included BJJ World Champ Roberto Cyborg Abreu against Bellator Champ Rafael Lovato Jr. and BJJ World Champ Gordon The King Ryan against Aaron Tex Johnson.

Photo By Jim Varsallone
Photo By Jim Varsallone
Photo By Jim Varsallone
Photo By Jim Varsallone

Ronin Taiko provided the musical accompaniment.

Photo By Jim Varsallone

More video action and video interviews at SubStars Miami

My video interview with UFC star Anthony Rumble Johnson before SubStars Miami.

Johnson, multi-time World Sumo Champ 600-pound Yamamoto, UFC ranked heavyweight Curtis Razor Blaydes, and multi-time Collegiate Japanese Sumo Champ Takeshi participated in a celebrity sumo wrestling battle during SubStars Miami.

From sumo to grappling, my video interview with multi-time Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu World Champ and ADCC Champ Roberto Cyborg Abreu after SubStars Miami.

Cyborg outlasted undefeated Bellator MMA Middleweight Champ and first American G1 and NoG1 Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu World Champ Rafael Lovato Jr. in the match of the night.

Growing up in Brazil, Cyborg lives in Miami where he leads Fight Sports Miami, a certified jiu-jitsu academy.

Next is my video interview with IBJJF World Champ, IBJJF World Champ NoGi and IBJJF Pans Champ Maggie Grindatti during SubStars Miami.

Grindatti, a quick study who began training six years ago, battled more experienced IBJJF World Champ Luiza Monteiro.

Growing up in York County, Maine, Grindatto now lives in Miami where she trains at Fight Sports Miami.

Grindatto played ice hockey and field hockey as a youth, earning a field hockey scholarship from the University of Pacific in California.

After graduating with a degree in Health, Exercise and Sport Sciences, she relocated to Hawaii to live with her uncle uncle, T. Jay Thompson, an MMA promoter. Through his influence, she decided to train jiu-jitsu.

Up next is my two-part video interview with Vagner Rocha and his daughter Jasmine Rocha of Vagner Rocha Martial Arts (Hollywood/Pembroke Pines) after SubStars Miami.

Born in Brazil, Vagner is a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioner and professional mixed martial artist. He is the current CJJ Worlds Combat Jiu Jitsu lightweight champion and an MMA alum of UFC, Bellator and Strikeforce.

Jasmine, a Brazilian jiu-jitsu specialist and former high school wrestler, coaches and trains at Vagner Rocha Martial Arts. She is a IBJJF GI Champ, IBJJF Worlds No Gi Weight & Absolute Champ and Grappling Pro Open Super Fight Champ.

The Vagners competed at SubStars, each winning.

https://www.bjjheroes.com/bjj-news/sub-stars-results-luiza-monteiro-jimenez-gordon-nicky-ryan-rodriguez-and-more

https://boxcast.tv/channel/x0ae8ruvz2q60ftk7rui

Photo By Jim Varsallone

SubStars Social Media

Website: https://substars.us/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/substarsjj/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sub.stars/?hl=en

Shout out to PR/Marketing Specialist Carla Gonzalez Guinie.

My Fighting and Pro Wrestling Talk on the Web and Social Media

Website: http://www.miamiherald.com/sports/fighting/

Twitter: @jimmyv3

YouTube: jim varsallone (jimmyv3 channel)

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ProWrestlingSouthFlorida/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WWE-WrestleMania-28-Miami-241160769255279/

Jim Varsallone
Miami Herald
Jim Varsallone writes a high school sports column twice a week, featuring top performers in all varsity sports (boys and girls) in Broward and Miami-Dade counties. He also covers pro wrestling, something he’s done since his college days in the late 1980s. Now in his fifth decade of coverage, he currently follows WWE (Raw, SmackDown and NXT), AEW, Ring of Honor, TNA Impact Wrestling, MLW, WOW, NWA, and the South Florida indies, mainly CCW. He writes MMA, too -- mostly profile stories and video interviews with American Top Team and Sanford MMA fighters in South Florida. As for pro wrestling, he writes feature stories and profile pieces, updates upcoming show schedules in South Florida, photographs the action and interviews talent (audio and video) -- sharing the content here and via social media on his Facebook, Twitter and YouTube channel: jim varsallone (jimmyv3 channel). Support my work with a digital subscription
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