On November 6th I joined the EBI 9 Light Heavyweight card held at the Orpheum Theatre in Los Angeles, CA. This was a great event to take part in. It was one of the most professional events I have ever experienced.

For those that are not in the know about EBI (Eddie Bravo Invitational) it’s a professional 16 person bracket with single elimination format. The rules are 10 minute submission only rules, including heal hooks, reaping and neck cranks. There is an interesting set of overtime rules as well. If there is no submission in the 10 minute round, the referee flips a coin and one of the athletes gets to decide to attack or defend. The two possible starting positions are the back with a seatbelt grip (head and arm) or a spider web (top side armbar with the legs over the head and torso). Both athletes get a chance to attack from one of the submission positions, and continue to exchange attacks for 3 rounds. After each athlete gets 3 tries at a submission attack, the total control time is tallied up and the win goes to the athlete with the longer set of control time. A rule I learned at the rules clinic was that if a submission happens in both rounds, the person with the quicker submission wins.

One observation I had from the overtime: The armbar seems to be a position where a submission happens quickly but also a position where an escape can happen quickly. The back seems to be a position where the submission can take longer but also where an escape takes longer.

The motivation to get the submission in the 10 minute round was the cash prize. Only the winner of the tournament was eligible for the prize. If a submission was achieved during the 10 minute round, a competitor was able to bank $5,000 for a total of 4 matches, winning up to $20,000.

While I was extremely impressed with the professionalism of the organization in general, I was even more impressed with the service the organization provided for the competitors. Not only did we have transportation and lodging covered, the tournament had a proper warm up area, communication with the competitors, and open mind to receive input on rules to promote healthy competition.

One difference I noticed with the EBI 9 format and Fight 2 Win Pro production was that EBI 9 with the UFC Fight Pass seemed to invest more value with the live streaming of the event while Fight 2 Win Pro had a crazier “live concert” type of feel with less of an emphasis on the live stream by Flograppling. Both great opportunities to compete but both with a different focus on production.

I had the opportunity to compete against Jacen Flynn in my first match of Vinny Magalhaes in my second match. With Jacen we had some exchanges from our feet and he choose to pull guard. After a while it seemed he became frustrated and pulled a “possum guard” where he would lay on his side. The anti-jiujitsu tactic led the match into overtime. I was able to secure a submission in the bottom of the second overtime round to get the victory with a twister. In my second match I was up against Vinny Magalhaes. While Vinny looked very drained at weigh-ins, he looked fresh and ready to compete by the event that night. I went for a few submission attempts but he gave very little sign of them working. I think he might have rubber joints….lol…. In any case Vinny chooses the arm in the first round of overtime and gets it in about 15 seconds. I choose the back, and ride him for the 15 seconds but am unable to secure a submission and lose.

Although I didn’t win, I feel this experience helped me grow and better understand my potential as an athlete, competitor, and person. I would like to thank Dan Lukehart, Sean Gonsolin, and Aaron Martinez for the cornering that night. They were a great help. I also want everyone at EDH Jiu Jitsu, Yemaso BJJ, and Apex Wrestling (Ryan Loder) for contributing time and effort to help me prepare for the big match ups! Thank you everyone!!