Polaris, Europe's largest professional grappling organization, is hosting a Grand Prix pyramid in the under 77kg weight division, where the winner will receive €20,000. The entire Grand Prix will take place during the Polaris 27 tournament, which takes place on 23 March in Wales.
Polaris recently held a similar Grand Prix, but in the Absolute category (no weight limit). The winner then was the Brazilian representative of Atos BJJ Kaynan Duarte, with Jason Rau standing in his way first, then Izaak Michell and in the final Fabricio Andrey.
A total of 8 fighters will take part in the Grand Prix in the weight class up to -77 kilograms, six of which are already confirmed. One wrestler will qualify from the so-called Polaris Contenders, which will take place on February 24. Registration is possible via Smoothcomp.
CONFIRMED NAMES:
Jozef Chen
Jozef Chen, a brown belt, has worked his way up the most under the tutelage of Craig Jones of B-Team Jiu-Jitsu in Austin, Texas. His interest in MMA was sparked by a desire to understand the nuances of grappling, and in August 2018 he began training Brazilian jiu-jitsu at Nanjing BJJ in China.
Jozef is the winner of the September European ADCC Trials, which earned him a spot in the ADCC World. His most notable skill is Guard Passing.
Espen Mathiesen
Espen Mathiesen is a Norwegian fighter and black belt holder, having earned his black belt under Jose Carlos of the Kimura - Nova Uniao organization.
Espen has become one of the best jiu-jitsu fighters in Europe and has won medals at major tournaments such as IBJJF World (purple), IBJJF Pans (brown) and IBJJF European (black). He also won the AJP Pro title in 2018.
Jed Hue
Jed Hue, one of the UK's best fighters, holds a black belt under Ross Nicholls.
He is a multiple Polaris veteran and has won several ADCC Open tournaments.
He is best known to Czechoslovakian fans for his quick loss in the Polaris title fight against Mateusz Szczeciński.
Levi Jones-Leary
Levi is an Australian and a black belt. He currently trains under Lachlan Giles at Absolute MMA.
He has had a lot of success including winning tournaments such as IBJJF European, IBJJF Pans and AJP Grand Slam.
His favorite technique is the Crab Ride.
PJ Barch
PJ Barch is a black belt in jiu-jitsu under Richie Martinez and Eddie Bravo and is one of the main representatives of the 10th Planet team. Barch, a former American wrestler, transitioned to grappling where he gained recognition after notable victories at events such as the Onnit Invitational, Quintet Grappling Team Survival Match.
He finished 4th at ADCC World 2022, defeating wrestlers such as Langaker and JT Torres.
His favorite technique is the armbar.
Davis Asare
Norwegian fighter and purple belt training with Team New Wave under John Danaher.
He finished 2nd at the European ADCC Trials in February, beating wrestlers such as Oliver Taza and Mateusz Szczeciński.
SUPERFIGHTS:
The tournament will also feature several superfights. For example, female superstar Ffion Davies will defend her title against Brianna Ste-Marie. A great fight in the -66 kg weight class will surely bring a duel between ADCC veteran Keith Krikorian and the winner of September's ADCC Trials Owen Jones.
