Atos athletes Kaynan Duarte and Andy Murasaki left nothing unconquered this weekend. Taking home titles in both Gi and No Gi, in LW and HW divisions this weekend.
Two professional jiu-jitsu tournaments took place this week. Kaynan Duarte took on the heavyweights In Houston, Texas at the Third Coast Grappling No-Gi Grand Prix. Meanwhile, in Las Vegas, Nevada Andy Murasaki made his black belt debut at the Evolve Your Game eight-man featherweight invitational.
Andy Murasaki’s Stunning Black Belt Debut
Andy Murasaki made waves in the competitive circuit as a colored belt. Most recently he took home double-gold at the 2020 Pan Am Championships at brown belt. While many athletes have a preferred game that defines their style, BJJ Heroes lists Andy’s favorite technique as “Well Rounded” speaking to his ability to play anywhere from sneaky back takes, scrambles, and deafening pressure. With the exception of Andy, the newest black belt in the bracket, each competitor was a veteran already achieving significant titles at such as Worlds, Pans, Europeans, and more.
Andy started the night against Kennedy Maciel, showcasing his effective and threatening passing. He left no room for his opponent to attack and took the win via referee’s decision. Again, in his second round against Gianni Grippo, he implemented his pressure passing to solidify side control and finished the match via triangle handing Grippo his first submission loss since 2014, according to BJJ Heroes. The finals was a showdown between Andy and another “new generation” black belt, Matheus Gabriel. Gabriel played a smart game attempting to tie up and slow down Andy. But, a grappling savant, it was nothing Andy hadn’t dealt with before. Andy was relentless in his passing attempts and took home the EUG Featherweight title and $10,000 cash prize by decision.
Kaynan Duarte Wins Big in Houston
Kaynan Duarte needs no introduction. Still in his first three years at black belt he’s considered a fairly new black belt, but has already earned almost every title there is to claim in the rank. He’s also well versed in both gi and no-gi and any ruleset you can throw at him.
Third Coast Grappling has one of the most unique rulesets. They favor submissions, while still giving incentive to score points. If an athlete scores at least eleven points it earns a victory. However, in the event that there is no submission and anything less than eleven points on the scoreboard the athletes will go into a golden score overtime. These rules came into play this weekend.
In his first match Kaynan took on Tex Johnson. Kaynan scored an early back take securing four points, but it wasn’t enough to finish the match within regulation. While Tex was able to stay alive through the 5-minute over time, he stalled inside of Kaynan’s closed guard. Kaynan earned the decision to move onto the semis against Mason Fowler. Again, Kaynan displayed a dominant performance within regulation, but took the match to overtime where he won by golden score securing his place in the finals.
In the final round for $15,000 Kaynan took on Victor Hugo. Kaynan was active the entire match remaining relentless with his passing and leg attacks. Overtime began with Kaynan on top in Victor’s closed guard. Victor seemed more eager in the overtime, attempting sweeps and a kimura from closed guard. Eventually, Kaynan forced Victor to open his guard and proceeded with pass attempts and a very near back attack before rolling off the mat. With no points on the board the Third Coast Grappling title and the $15,000 came down to a referees decision which was granted to the champ, Kaynan Duarte.
More Victories…
Atos Jiu-Jitsu brown belt, Jhenifer Aquino, also competed at Evolve Your Game in a rooster weight super fight. After an impressive performance displaying your aggressive passing she took home the victory 4×2.