REAL COMBAT MEDIA JIU JITSU: TEAM ROSTERS ANNOUNCED FOR INAUGURAL KINEKTIC SUBMISSION GRAPPLING EVENT

LAS VEGAS (August 6, 2019) – Team rosters have been announced for the inaugural Kinektic submission grappling event, streaming exclusively on UFC FIGHT PASS®, the world’s leading digital subscription service for combat sports, live from Anaheim Business Expo Center on Friday, August 16, at 10 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. PT.

All Kinektic team formatted events will feature four competing squads, each comprised of five world-class grapplers, in a tournament consisting of semifinals and a championship final. Additionally, all events will feature a grappling Super Fight, which will feature additional participants not already competing in the tournament.

Co-founded by UFC® Hall of Famer Urijah Faber, Las Vegas entrepreneur Keith Veltre, and award-winning combat sports announcer Sean Wheelock, Kinektic is a unique, tournament-style promotion that will feature athletes from various combat sports disciplines, including mixed martial arts, grappling, jiu-jitsu, wrestling, and more.

“As a hardcore fan of MMA and submission grappling, I’m extremely psyched about this incredible level of talent on our inaugural Kinektic event,” Wheelock said. “I want great matches, but I also want really fun and unpredictable matches.  The fact that we have competitors as diverse in their athletic backgrounds and grappling styles as Craig Jones, Joe Warren, Rico Rodriguez, and Vinny Magalhaes, clearly illustrates what Kinektic is all about.

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The captains of the four star-powered teams are UFC veteran and MMA media personality Chael Sonnen (Team SUG); world-class grappler Craig Jones (Team BJJ Fanatics); UFC light heavyweight Anthony Smith (Team Lionheart); and former UFC welterweight Chris Lytle (Team Lights Out Urban Activities). Team Captains had the option to compete for their team, Jones and Lytle are competing for their respective teams.

Joining Jones on Team BJJ Fantatics are UFC athlete and former Strikeforce Welterweight World Champion Jake Shields, ADCC Trials bronze medalist Nicky Rodriguez, IBJJF World Champion Edwin Najmi, and ADCC Asia and Oceania gold medalist Lachlan Giles.

Veteran UFC athlete and former WEC Middleweight Champion Joe Riggs, former UFC Heavyweight Champion Rico Rodriguez, Polaris Welterweight Champion Mansher Khera, and Grapplers Quest Champion and BJJ black belt Will Weed join Lytle on Team Lights Out Urban Achievers.

Team SUG has veteran UFC athlete and ADCC gold medalist Vinny Magalhaes, former WSOF Featheright Champion Alexandre Almeida, former UFC veteran athlete and PFL light heavyweight Ronny Markes, IBJJF World Championships bronze medalist Rafael Domingos, and LFA veteran and BJJ black belt Gabriel Checco.

Former Bellator Featherweight and Bantamweight Champion, and Greco-Roman Wrestling World Champion, Joe Warren, Pan-American gold medalist Scott Morton, ADCC US Trials gold medalist Enrico Cocco, IBJJF No-gi World Champion James Brasco, and Fight 2 Win Champion Brian Sparrow comprise Team Lionheart.

Faber, who also serves as Kinektic’s Vice President of Business Development, will be the mat-side and backstage interviewer. Joining Faber will be UFC women’s flyweight Paige

VanZant, who is the lead color commentator, and play-by-play announcer Wheelock.

Jake Shields                                                               San Francisco, California, USA

Nicky Rodriguez                                                         Dayton, Ohio, USA.

Edwin Najmi                                                               Tarzana, California, USA

Lachian Giles                                                              Melbourne, Australia

Craig Jones                                                                Adelaide, Australia

Rico Rodriguez                                                          Staten Island, New York, USA

Joe “Diesel” Riggs                                                     Phoenix, Arizona, USA

Mansher “Munch” Khera                                            Queens, New York, USA

Will Weed                                                                  San Diego, California, USA

Chris “Lights Out” Lytle                                              Indianapolis, Indiana, USA

Gabriel “Zangief” Barbosa Checco                .           Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

Rafael Domingos                                                      Brasilia, Federal District, Brazil

Alexandre “Capitao” Almeidia                                    Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil

Ronny Markes                                                           Natal, Rio Grande Do Norte, Brazil

“Vicious” Vinny Magalhaes                                        Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

Brian Sparrow                                                            Sandwich, Massachusetts, USA

Joseph “The Baddest Man on the Planet” Warren    Denver, Colorado, USA

Scott Morton                                                               Omaha, Nebraska, USA

James Brasco                                                           Delray Beach, Florida, USA

BJJ Fanatics vs. Lights Out Urban Achievers and Team SUG vs. Team Lionheart are the semifinals match-ups with the winners meeting on the same night in the championship final.

The one-night tournament consists of bouts with eight-minute time limits. Losers of the semifinal matches are eliminated; draws result in the elimination of both athletes; and the first team with five members eliminated will be out of the competition. The surviving team will be declared the winner. A feature unique to Kinektic Grappling is that the order in which athletes compete is not predetermined. There are thirty seconds between each bout and each team captain will be responsible for strategically deciding which team member will participate next. All members of each team must compete at least once.

A SuperFight will soon be finalized and announced.

Tickets are priced at $65.00 (VIP), $50.00 Reserved) and $30.00 (General Admission), and available to purchase by going online to: http://tickets.ticketforce.com/eventperformances.asp?evt=1656.

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