The submission-only jiu-jitsu craze moves north this weekend, to Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.
Checkmate Submission Only 4.5: The Winter Solstice features several top Brazilian jiu-jitsu fighters, including multiple-time promotional champ Danilo Borovic, one of the top brown belts in the country. In the main event, he will fight Chris Hartwig, a decorated BJJ black belt.
“Danilo and Chris have both competed for us before and put on exciting performances,” said Stan Myaskovskiy, Checkmate Submission Only promoter. “I thought that they would make for a very entertaining main event.”
Myaskovskiy coaches at Keweenaw Jiu-Jitsu, based out of Houghton, MI. He spent years on the roads, driving in conditions the postal service would balk to train at distant Midwest gyms. His journeys have brought him in contact with coaches and athletes across the nation. They’ve noticed his commitment and made efforts to appear on his shows.
“His passion is contagious, and he lives, breathes and eats jiu-jitsu,” said Borovic. “He has the right attitude for running tournaments and because of his attitude, has been successful.”
Borovic is the current 205-pound and 185-pound Checkmate Submission Only Champion. He’s competed and won on the Metamoris Challengers circuit, and could be one of jiu-jitsu’s breakout stars in 2017.
“Dan is a huge prospect,” said Myaskovskiy. “Considered by many to be the best brown belt in the world.”
Hartwig is a jiu-jitsu veteran. He’s a multiple time US Grappling and North American Grappling Association champion. He also coaches at Team Curran MMA, UFC veteran Jeff Curran’s gym.
“Checkmate is a well-run event and always brings exciting matches,” said Hartwig. “Dan is a very high level competitor and someone who I respect. I like to test myself and competing against Dan is definitely a test.”
The submission-only format evolved from the mind of Eddie Bravo, the founder of the 10th Planet Jiu-Jitsu system. In his own Eddie Bravo Invitational promotion, Bravo plays with the rules to create an exciting format that features tons of tapouts. If he thinks something bores the crowd, Bravo simply conjures a new rule to make the undesired factor vanish from the next event.
Overtime exists, but it’s no picnic. In the overtime, each fighter starts in a bad position, trading offensive starts like college football’s overtime. The winner either taps their opponent faster than they tap out or escapes the bad position faster over three rounds. Stalling hurts immensely in submission-only formats, especially in OT.
Checkmate Submission Only veteran Quentin Rosenzweig has appeared at two EBI events. He feels that the rules have made the product more accessible for fans and competitors.
“I think submission-only has gained ground due to the spectators love of seeing a finish,” said Rosenzweig. “They want a clear winner and loser.”
Hartwig also believes that fans and competitors love the evolution of the sport. “Two guys hunting subs is more fun to watch than point tournaments due to the constant movement that is created when two guys are hunting [submissions],” he said. “Nothing says, ‘I won a match’ like finishing your opponent.”
EBI’s format and rules translate well to other competitions. Most fights end in finishes at Checkmate Submission Only events. Three of the past four events have ended with finish rates over 70%.
“The way it should be,” said Borovic.
Myaskovskiy put Checkmate Submission Only 4.5: The Winter Solstice together to showcase the sport in a region where jiu-jitsu remains in its infancy.
“Checkmate Submission Only started as a tournament for the Upper Peninsula athletes to be able to compete closer to home,” said Myaskovskiy. “Most of us travel five to six hours to compete.”
He added, “We are excited to showcase jiu-jitsu to the Houghton-Hancock-Calumet-Lake Linden area and show people the art, and hopefully get more students into our area.”
Competitors like Rosenzweig respect the product Myaskovskiy has built through the first four events and believe shows like this pay off in their careers.
“I have pretty much built my career off events like Checkmate Submission Only,” said Rosenzweig.
Borovic makes a point of competing at Checkmate Submission Only events. He said, “I really appreciate Stan and the rest of the guys running it and want to support their mission. I’ve always been treated well up there.”
Checkmate Submission Only 4.5: The Winter Solstice’s main event highlights a 184-pound match Danilo Borovic and Chris Hartwig. In the 145-pound co-main event, Gracie Jiu-Jitsu Black Belt Omar Choudhury, who trains out of Pura Vida, will fight José Luis Varella of Grappling Fight Team.
Also on the main card, Will Robinson competes against Chris Golv at 170 pounds. Myaskovskiy fights Kyle Perkins at 150 pounds.
The preliminary card will feature a number of athletes from regional jiu-jitsu schools, including Marquette, MI’s Lake Effect Jiu-Jitsu, Myaskovskiy’s own Keweenaw Jiu-Jitsu, and Wisconsin’s Green Bay Jiu-Jitsu.
The invite-only showcase goes down Saturday night at 7, with video available on Facebook Live.
You can find out more information about Checkmate Submission Only online at www.checkmatesubmissiononly.com.
