Fight 2 Win 152 turned into a night of close matches which culminated into a closely contested battle between welterweight gi champion Michael Liera Jr. and challenger Edwin Najmi.
One of the most anticipated matches of the evening took place between Gabriel Almeida and Romulo Barral.
Almeida immediately pulled guard, maintaining grips while Barral kept up relentless pressure as he worked to pass. After nearly tumbling out of bounds, the match returned to the feet for a few minutes before Almeida pulled guard again and quickly used a sweep to come on top. Almeida then worked to flatten out his opponent, working his way into side control and then transitioning to full mount. Still, Barral was able to come on top and force Almeida to close up his guard. With seconds remaining, Almeida worked his way into a kneebar attempt, but was unable to finish before the end of the match. The judges awarded Almeida the unanimous decision victory
In the co-main event, Johnatha Alves took on Johnny Tama. Tama wasted no time in pulling guard, and Alves put on continuous forward pressure and forced Tama to hold on to half-guard. Alves worked his way free, but Tama was able to recover the half-guard. Eventually, though, Alves was able to get past Tama’s guard and flatten him out. Tama managed to escape the position with a creative lapel grip, avoiding a brief armbar attempt from Alves in the process. The competitors were reset in a neutral standing position, and Tama soon pulled guard and received a slam from his opponent. Tama attempted a last-second sweep attempt, but neither competitor was able to finish the other before time ran out. Alves was awarded the victory via unanimous decision.
The main event saw Edwin Najmi take on Michael Liera Jr.
Liera started the action by pulling guard, soon managing to come on top and working to pass Najmi’s guard. A scramble with creative techniques from both athletes led to Najmi ending up on top trying to pass Liera’s guard before inverting and implementing his spider guard. After being held there for a minute, Liera managed to get past Najmi’s guard, but Najmi was able to escape and get to his feet, with Liera still keeping a hold on his opponent’s pant leg. Liera then pulled guard and managed to sweep Najmi, who wrapped up a leg and pushed the competitors into 50/50. After a brief straight ankle lock from both athletes, Liera got back up to his feet before falling back and going back into the mutual foot lock position. Both competitors went belly-down and strained to get the tap, though neither was able to finish it before time ran out.
The judges awarded Najmi the split decision, and he became the new welterweight gi title.
