Fight To Win 178 took place on Saturday, July 24, from Phoenix, AZ. In the main event, Ribeiro brothers black belt Victor Hugo successfully defended his heavyweight title with a win over Guilherme Augusto. Also, Osvaldo “Queixinho” Moizinho put on a show in the co-main event with a decision win over Pedro Dias, and two-time ADCC champion Xande Ribeiro earned a close win over Fellipe Trovo.
The main event was a relatively slow affair, as Victor Hugo worked from his closed and open guard for essentially the open match, with Guilherme Augusto never achieving a submission attempt or guard pass. In the closing minutes of the match, Hugo inverted to his trademark knee bar, but Augusto defended and the pair settled into the 50/50 position where Hugo continued to attack with leg lock attempts. Ultimately, Hugo walked away with the close decision to retain his title.
In the co-main event, Moizinho kept Dias on the defensive for essentially the entire match, as he threatened lasso guard attacks for nearly all of regulation. In the final seconds of the match, Moizinho attacked a belly-down footlock that secured him a clear-cut and entertaining victory.
In the much-anticipated match between jiu-jitsu legend Xande Ribeiro and Fellipe Trovo, Trovo came out ultra-aggressive, throwing up numerous submission attempts from his back. While none of those attempts were particularly close to being successful, Trovo’s approach did keep Ribeiro on the defense, and Ribeiro was unable to pass Trovo’s guard. But with just 90 seconds remaining in the match, Ribeiro pulled closed guard and, with 30 seconds on the clock, attacked an armbar that appeared to be fully extended, forcing Trovo to defend. It was that one close armbar attempt that earned Ribeiro the decision win.
