Cole Abate, the teen sensation of AOJ, will be facing off against former ADCC 2022 bracket-mate Josh Cisneros in the co-main event at Who’s Number One on Friday, November 11, per an announcement published on Cole Abate’s official Instagram.
Since we never got to see these two ADCC 2022 alumni clash at the event itself, this upcoming WNO matchup marks an opportunity to witness what might have been. In particular, for Abate, a scrap with Cisneros represents a shot at redemption, after the AOJ ace was knocked out of the competition by Fabricio Andrey during ADCC’s first round of matches, in a shocking upset.
In his announcement of the match against Cisneros, Abate writes, “BACK TO WORK – ABATE vs CISNEROS. Excited to be returning to WNO for the co-main event of the card.”
Despite his loss to Andrey, Abate has previously proven himself a remarkably difficult opponent to beat. Cisneros, however, is no slouch himself, taking second place at the incredibly competitive ADCC West Coast Trials this past year with an arsenal of tricky attacks like the rarely-seen Suloev stretch. Fellow ADCC bracket-mate Keith Krikorian has previously told the Jiu-Jitsu Times that Cisneros has historically been one of his most challenging opponents, describing the latter as “next level” and “a very complete grappler.”
