by Ryan Bradbury

Buy this pay per view, period. This is the best card Ralek has put together yet, with three former UFC fighters, ADCC Champions, alumni from The Ultimate Fighter and BJJ Kumite, and enough combined gold medals to rival the GDP of most small countries.

(ALar’s note: This is Ryan, a long time friend of the crew here at Moai Martial Arts. He has oft been rumored to make his blogging debut. The planets have aligned and that triumphant day has come. He’s a purple belt in BJJ training out of Renzo Gracie’s Academy in Manhattan. My arm still clicks on cold days from a flying triangle he threw on me five years ago, so yeah, he knows what he’s talking about!)

Garry Tonon vs. Kit Dale

The fact that this is the first fight of the night speaks volumes for the rest of the card. Tonon and Kit were both phenoms on the brown belt circuit and are still proving themselves as capable black belts. Tonon has two Pan Am golds, and Kit is one of the most decorated grapplers from Australia. He lays claim to a black belt after spending only four and a half years on the mat.

Dale, while being one of the best grappler’s from Australia, is limited only by that exact fact, he’s the big fish in a small pond. Whereas Tonon is swimming with the likes of Renzo Gracie, Ricardo Almeida and with the advice of the mad scientist John Danaher.  So rest assured he’s got a game plan to combat the “Great White Grip” that Kit has been developing lately.

This match can really go anywhere, Tonon likes to keep his opponents guessing, while Dale is never one to stick to the conventional approach to BJJ. As Giani Grippo and Kit have been discussing the pros and cons of drilling, we get to see him put his money where his mouth is on the world stage. To make things more interesting, Kit’s beard is riding on this victory as he has bet it’s survival on the outcome of the match.

My Bet: Kit’s beard will stay either from a submission in the first five minutes or else it’ll go to a draw.

Andre Galvao vs. Chael Sonnen

Although this fight is still technically at risk due to the Nevada State Athletic Commission and Chael’s personal war on his testicles, it should still be a great match. Chael being a former UFC contender and NCAA All American wrestler looks to challenge one of the modern day legends in the sport. Galvao heads the famed Atos BJJ school has two world championships, seven Pan Am championships, and a few ADCC wins to boot. He definitely has the upper hand on Sonnen for this match, he’s younger, more technical and has one of the best competition teams to train with on a daily basis.

While Chael is in for some trouble, Galvao hasn’t been finishing as many matches as in the past. The size differnce is going to put the fight in Chael’s hands for the first couple minutes, but as the match goes on Galvao’s insane conditioning will be hard to beat.

My Bet: Galvao with a mid-late match submission.

Saulo Ribeiro vs. Rodrigo Medeiros

Saulo Ribeiro and Rodrigo Comprido Medeiros are some old school legends in the sport, this match will be very technical. Saulo and his brother have collected an astounding number of wins over their careers and Comprido has had his share wins and fame from being the coach of Brock Lesnar. Ultimately they each will be weary of the other’s ability and take the match to a draw.

My Bet: Draw

Dean Lister vs. Josh Barnett

There is a old proverb, “if a tree falls in the woods and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?” Well that might be BS, but what may be true is that a Metamoris doesn’t really take place unless Dean Lister is present. And for good reason, the man is one of the best grapplers in the world, he’s gotten plenty of ADCC wins. He even went on to fight in Pride and the UFC.

Josh Barnett is a beast on the mat and in the Octagon. He’s fought in UFC, Strikeforce, Pancrase, and Pride, as well as spending some time on the professional wrestling circuit. Side-note: he’s won Revolver Magazines Most Metal Athlete in sports, as well as being a an avid player of Magic the Gathering, in other words the dude knows how to party.

While Barnett will no doubt be a worthy opponent, Dean just has too much experience on the mat. If this was an MMA bout, my money would be on Barnett, but the Boogeyman has every tool in his grappling arsenal to deal with whatever is thrown his way. Plus, after Saturday, Dean will have competed in 3 out of 4 Metamoris’s so the pressure will be on Barnett for this one.

My Bet: If Dean wins with anything but a Heel Hook I will start going to church again.

Keenan Cornelius vs. Vinny Magalhaes

In case you’ve been under a rock for the past couple years, let me fill you in, Keenan is to Jiu Jitsu what Lebron was for Basketball. The kid has been on the mats since the age of 14 and has trained with the likes of BJ Penn, competed under the infamous Team Lloyd Irvin, and is now one of Andre Galvao’s top new black belts. Not only has he been bulldozing through virtually everyone he’s competed against, including notable wins over Leandro Lo, Dean Lister, Gary Tonon and Braulio Estima, but he has been evolving the game with the use of the worm guard. This new guard has been so effective that Copa Podio has declared they will be penalizing anyone using it in their next Grand Prix.

Vinny Magalhaes is not without his own accolades, making it to the finals of The Ultimate Fighter: Team Nogueira Vs. Frank Mir only to lose to Ryan Bader via TKO. He’s experienced success in M-1 Global and various smaller promotions while floating in and out of the UFC. He’s a BJJ black belt under Royler Gracie and holds plenty of medals in the Mundials and ADCC championships.

This fight should be exciting, both fighters have a depth of experience and have proved themselves on various stages of competition. Look out for the worm guard to be used by Keenan, which will match up nicely against Vinny’s aggressive style.

My Bet: Keenan with a quick submission off of the worm guard.

Secret Match

Another highlight of the night is the “secret match,” where not even the fighters will know who is walking onto the mat until they announce their names.

Three possibilities I’d like to see that are:

Eddie Bravo vs. Royce Gracie – Would be a ‘too good to be true’ follow-up to the infamous scuffle of last Metamoris.

Marcus “Buchecha” Almeida vs. Roldolfo Viera – While they have fought before, it is always exciting, see 2013 IBJJF Worlds Finals.

Jeff Glover vs. Kenny Florian – This would be a great fight, both announcers are technical masters of the sport and would undoubtedly put on a good show.

Metamoris 4 takes pace this Saturday at 8pm. If you’re a true fan of grappling, skip going to the bar, take that $30 you were going to throw at the shot girl for watered down Kamikazes and buy the live stream you won’t regret it… (plus shot girl wasn’t going home with you anyways)

-Ryan

Hit me with your Metamoris 4 impressions on Twitter at @NotRyanBradbury