7 matches, 3 submissions, and with no points scored against him, Josh Hinger ends the year on a high note.
With seven divisions (Master 1-7) Master Worlds has become one of the largest tournaments that IBJJF hosts every year. Because it’s a tournament with a minimum age requirement (30 years old) to compete it provides a rare blend of competitors ranging from those who are still active in the adult division (think Cyborg, and our very own, Josh Hinger) to “retired” legends that are not ready to stop competing (Formiga comes to mind). This keeps highly sought-after match-ups alive that might otherwise be long gone.
An active and avid competitor in adult divisions, earning three No-Gi World titles, medaling at ADCC, and more Josh Hinger has always come up just shy of gold at Master Worlds. But, if nothing else, that just speaks to the level that shows up for this tournament. After taking the entirety of 2020 off from competition he made the trip to Orlando to give it another try. This year he made sure to end on a different note. After seven matches, three submissions, and zero points scored against him, Josh Hinger earned gold in both the Master 2 Medium Heavyweight division and the Open Class.
In his division he had four matches, finishing two of them by armlock. Even when he didn’t get the sub he still dominated taking home one win by advantage, but positionally controlling the entire match, and winning the other with a decisive 7-0 score. He moved through the open class with equal control and composure, defeating Rafael “Formiga” Monteiro in the open class final.
The main difference between the adult division and Masters? Time. Josh tells Flograppling, “To only have five minutes against a skilled black belt, like Formiga, it is really a game of who makes the first mistake”. Score first and make no mistakes is the name of the game. According to Hinger this his warm up for 2021. Expect to see him back in full swing very soon.