André Galvão knew one thing about wrestlers and he trusted that was the way to beat Chael Sonnen in their Metamoris 5 main event match.
“Wrestlers have the habit of giving out their backs. They do not like to be on the bottom,” said Galvão after his rear naked choke win over the former UFC star.
André pulled guard since the kick off and looked for a sweep to be on top and work his submissions.
It took a while to work and for a moment it seemed the strategy was a dead end, but a relentless Galvão saw an opening and worked his way up ending on Sonnen’s back.
Then, he locked his legs around Sonnen’s waist and started looking for the opponent’s neck.
The search was a quick one, and soon Galvão’s arm was in place under Sonnen’s chin.
The three taps followed.
“I’m always ready for any opponent they put in front of me. I knew how strong he is and as a wrestler, how good he would be on takedowns,” analyzed Galvão.
“Win or loose, the bad guy always makes the walk!”said Sonnen after the match, a sentence not many fully understood.
The co-main event was also a match of styles but this time, wrestling came out on top.
Much heavier, Josh Barnett made good use of his size, technique and wrestling shoes.
Always on top, the former UFC champion gave no breathing space to Dean Lister and looked for the submission.
It almost happened midway into the match with a kimura, but Lister managed to free his arm.
Then, at the very last seconds, Barnett locked a head lock from side control and ended the impressive 16-year no-submission streak for Lister.
“Pro wrestling is no joke!”said Barnett after the match.
“Win or loose, always hold your head high. I was here to make my students proud,” said Lister.
Another exciting match was the clash between Keenan Cornelius and Vinny Magalhães.
Originally scheduled for M3, a staph infection forced Vinny to pull out and Keenan quiclky tapped Kevin Casey, a last minute replacement.
This time, both guys were ready to go and they really went for it.
Vinny had his best moment early on with a tight heel hook.
“I though it was it, but he escaped. I wanted to win, so i’m frustrated, but it was a great match.” said Vinny.
Keenan ended the match stronger, getting to the mount, attacking a triangle and then an armlock, but Vinny powered through.
“It was a weird match, since we are both made of rubber.” joked Keenan.
Saulo Ribeiro and Rodrigo Comprido had a great showing of what old school Jiu-Jitsu is all about.
The two legends worked hard for the takedown to land on top and work from there.
Saulo was sharp with his judo and used that to unbalance Comprido and end on half guard early on.
Ribeiro’s best moment came when he got the mount and tried to get the choke.
Comprido managed to escape and at the end almost caught Saulo’s back.
“We were here representing the Jiu-Jitsu the Gracie family created,” said Saulo.
“Saulo wants you to feel confortable. That’s when he attacks,” analyzed Comprido.
Here are the complete results for Metamoris 4.
Metamoris 4
Saturday, August 9, 2014
Los Angeles, CA
André Galvão defeated Chael Sonnen by submission via RNC
Josh Barnet defeated Dean Lister by submission via head lock
Jeff Glover and Baret Yoshida tied after 20 minutes
Keenan Cornelius and Vinny Magalhães tied after 20 minutes
Saulo Ribeiro and Rodrigo Comprido tied after 20 minutes
Gary Tonon defeated Kit Dale by submission via guillotine choke
