FIGHTBLOK brings us the 3rd installment in their growing Pro Invitational Grappling and Jiu-jitsu series, set to take place in the Westgate Casino, Las Vegas, Fri Jan 23rd. The main event is 4th degree black belt Fredson Paixao vs Romulo Caiado Cavalcanti. Fredson has a long list of accomplishments – four-times BJJ World champion, a nine-time Brazilian National champion, and also is a UFC/WEC veteran, amassing an MMA record of 10-5. He earned his black belt under Grand Master Osvaldo Alves in 1998, being one of two people who ever skipped from purple belt to black belt. He currently lives in Las Vegas teaching jiu-jitsu at Syndicate MMA.
FIGHTBLOK III showcases Fredson Paixao vs Romulo Caiado
Romulo has been training under Master Ricardo Cavalcanti at Carlson Gracie Las Vegas for almost seven years. He jumped right into competing since three months into training, as a while belt. “Master always pushes us to compete so we can get the feeling of fighting,” he said.
When asked about his upcoming match, he replied, “Fredson is a high level guy and I have a lot of respect for him. I’ve known about him since I was a white belt. It’s such an honor to fight him in this submission-only match.”
The first 10-minute round will be in the Gi and can be won only by submission, not points. The second 10-minute round will be no-gi.
“Fightblok has been helping a lot of the BJJ community by putting these matches together and taking real good care of the fighters,” Romulo added.
Promoter Anthony Savelio commented about the match-up. “I wanted to make it sort of like a David vs Goliath. I didn’t want to have veteran versus veteran, as is often the case, so that’s why I’m trying to introduce new blood to face someone so seasoned as Fredson. Romulo is very decorated for such a young guy. I want to bring something exciting, mix it up, bring in a young guy making waves in this industry. He wants to prove himself and he’s deserving.”
When asked how he feels about the upcoming match, Fredson said without hesitation, “I’m gonna kill him.” He didn’t bother to study his opponent. “I don’t really pay attention (to video footage and such.) For me, I just do my thing. I think about myself, I think about my training. I just go there and do my job – there’s nothing special about it. It’s like just one more day at the office.”
The last time Fredson competed was in a jiu-jitsu superfight against Jeff Glover at the UFC Expo in 2013. “I’m a little bit excited to compete again,” he said. “It’s been a long time that I haven’t shown myself – about two years? This year you guys are gonna see me competing more.”
The co-main event will be an exciting match-up between Taylor “Ninja” McCorriston from Xtreme Couture versus Jerry Shapiro from Cobra Kai.
“Taylor is a new guy,” promoter Savelio commented. “He just moved here from Cali. Has been fighting MMA for a while. Lived and fought in Japan. Just moved to Vegas to start fighting. Background is wrestling. People wrote him off. Then Taylor fought and beat Ulysees Gomez in Fightblok II, who was a UFC/Bellator veteran. Ray Sefo scouted Taylor in World Series Of Fighting for Jan 17th.”
Fightblok showcases not only straight Brazilian jiu-jitsu practitioners and submission grapplers, but also MMA fighters whose backgrounds are in those arts. “They are explosive and put on a great show,” Savelio said.
Another prime example of this is female match Kyra Batara (/ Ricardo Cavalcanti BJJ ) versus Chelsea Bailey / Xtreme Couture). Kyra wrestled in high school and has been doing jiu-jitsu for over six years, and Celsea has a strong wrestling base. Celsea is 1-0 as a pro MMA fighter, and Kyra 4-1 amateur MMA 1-2 pro.
It should be interesting for the audience to see the difference in styles of wrestlers, who tend to be strong in take-downs and top control, and BJJ-ers, who tend to specialize in the bottom game and sweeps. Stylistically, MMA has changed over the years to favor the fighters who dominate with top control and can rain ground-and-pound down on their opponents. Unless, of course, the top guy gets caught in a submission first. It’s a chess game mixing in strength and craftiness.
The entire fight card is below. (subject to change)
Fredson vs Romulo Caiado/ Ricardo Cavalcanti BJJ
Taylor “Ninja” McCorriston / XC vs Jerry Shapiro / Cobra Kai
Morris “Mo” Ayala / Zenith vs Stephen Martinez / Checkmat in CA
Kyra Batara / Ricardo Cavalcanti BJJ vs Chelsea Bailey / XC
Tolin the “Hawk” Garcia / 9th Isle Bjj vs Corey Conway / XC
PJ Lindner / XC vs Noah Tillis / Noah Tillis BJJ in CA
Damien Amaldovar / Zenith vs Bryan Calleros / Ricardo Cavalcanti JJ
Teens Match – Wolfie Steel / Zenith vs Robert Alvarez / Ricardo Cavalcanti JJ
4-Man Winner Take All
MATCH 1
Damien Nitkin / Zenith vs Shawn Fitzsimmons / Syndicate
MATCH 2
Shane Shapiro / Cobra Kai vs TBD
MATCH 3
Winner #1 vs Winner #2
Stay tuned right here at MMA Sucka for more live streams as well as videos highlighting the top fighters, commentators, coaches, promoters and other names in MMA and combat sports. We also bring you great offers on the latest MMA products and merchandise. You can also subscribe to our youtube channel for regular updates and all the latest fight news. You can also check out our sister site, at TheFightBuzz.com for the latest from the world of MMA and other combat sports.
