On Friday, March 12, one of the most entertaining promotions in grappling returns with a one-night, EBI-rules tournament featuring some of the best 155-pound grapplers in the world. The Emerald City Invitational (ECI) will take place live from Atlantic City, NJ and will have a $10,000 purse on the line.
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Like previous ECI events, matches will be contested under traditional EBI rules: a 10-minute, no-points regulation period followed by three rounds of overtime with grapplers competing for the fastest submission or escape time.
Below is the current ECI 155-pound tournament line-up.
Gianni Grippo
Gabriel Sousa
Josh Cisneros
Jon Calestine
Adam Benayoun
Kieran Kichuk
Pedro Serrano
Jordan Holy
A 2021 no-gi world champion and winner of the 145-pound ECI, Gianni Grippo will attempt to capture his second ECI tournament title. In his last ECI performance, Grippo’s back control in overtime was utterly inescapable, as he was able to control all of his opponents that made it to overtime for the maximum time permitted.
Grippo may be an early favorite, but he’ll face plenty of stiff competition. ZR Team’s Gabriel Sousa stands out as a serious threat. Although he lost in the second round of the 145-pound ECI last year, he bounced back with big wins over Mikey Musumeci, Cole Abate, and fellow ECI competitor Josh Cisneros. Look for Sousa to use his relentless pacing and guard passing to wear down his opponents throughout the tournament.
Cisneros is another name to keep an eye on. An excellent wrestler with a seemingly endless gas tank, he was a 2021 no-gi Pans silver medalist and holds a recent win over ADCC silver medalist Kennedy Maciel.
The main card will also feature three superfights:
Frank Rosenthal vs. Ellis Karadag
Lauren Sears vs. Izabella Frezzo
Jaidyn Mueller vs. Chrissy Briggs
