PGF World 7: All the Details

PGF World Season 7 is quickly approaching! The most exciting week in jiu jitsu returns November 3-8, live from Las Vegas, Nevada. Details about the only professional submission grappling league are all over the internet, but they’re sprinkled here and there. As a PGF Insider, member of the production staff, and number one superfan of the PGF, my goal is to aggregate all the information available about PGF World 7 here, in an easily searchable format. If you are not already, you will be a fan of the PGF. After all, it’s everything you love about sports, plus jiu jitsu! So let’s talk about the PGF…

SCHEDULE: 3-8 November

• DRAFT: 3 November. One of the most fun parts of the PGF is the draft. Seriously, sports fans and fantasy sports enthusiasts know their respective drafts are full of excitement, trash talking, and overall uncertainty. Each of the four jiu jitsu legendary coaches will receive 20,000 PGF points. The Draft is an auction-style draft where the four coaches will bid on competitors, trying to compile the best team. Seriously, this event is a blast. If you want to get a feeling for what the Draft will be like, the PGF Insiders recently did our MOCK DRAFT with the same auction-style format you will see at the PGF on 3 November.
• REGULAR SEASON: 4-7 November. The Crucible of the regular season will let all the fans know who are the real warriors. Competitors will have three competition matches each night of the regular season, totaling 12 overall. Each day of the regular season is comprised of three BLOCKS. Each block will feature two face-offs between teams (e.g. Team A v Team B & Team C v Team D). At the end of the 10-match block, the team with the most points will earn a team point for each of their competitors. The team who amasses the most points during the regular season will be crowned the PGF Season 7 Champions and earn $100,000.
• POST SEASON / FINALE TOURNAMENT: 8 November. The eight competitors who earn the most points throughout the season, regardless of their team standings, will earn a spot in the post-season finale tournament. The Finale tournament is an eight-person, single-elimination tournament. They get six minutes then have the possibility of two overtime rounds which will end via submission or ride time. The overall winner will be crowned the PGF World Light Heavyweight Champion and earn $20,000.

SCORING: Competitors can ONLY earn points through submissions. Team point totals reflect the sum of all their competitor points.

• a KILL or choke scores 6 points (e.g. guillotine, RNC, darce, etc.). Of note, a twister and the executioner have been ruled kills.
• a BREAK or joint lock (arm bar, ankle lock, etc.) scores 3 points
• any submission within one minute earns the Elbow Genie BONUS POINT, adding one point to the score
• Any team who has the top point total at the end of the block will earn an additional TEAM POINT for their team members (if there’s a tie, all members of tied teams will receive a team point).
• Disqualification (DQ) or cannot continue: Few techniques are forbidden in the PGF; however, jumping guard is one of them and has happened at least two times in PGF history. These have led to DQs. In PGF World Season 6, we had a somewhat verbal tap/unable to continue. In both these situations, the person who is not DQ’d or is still able to fight will receive 2 points.

COACHES:

In PGF World Season 6, four legendary coaches helmed the teams. Jean Jacques Machado, Rigan Machado, Dean Lister, and Roger Gracie. These legends put their hearts and souls into their teams, hoping their competitors came out on top. No coaches have been announced for PGF World Season 7, but this post will be updated as their names are announced (along with their backgrounds). Let’s be honest, I know who the coaches are, but I’m already on double-secret probation for slip ups in the pass. Rest assured, you will be AMAZED at the names of the coaches.

PGF World Season 7 Coaches have been announced!

•  Roger Gracie: Even the current king of the ADCC, Gordon Ryan, admits the best competitor in jiu jitsu history is Roger Gracie. A fourth-degree black belt and the grandson of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu founder Carlos Gracie, Roger became a 10-time IBJJF world champion including his weight and absolutes (open weight). In the Olympics of Jiu Jitsu, the ADCC, Roger is the only person in history to win both his weight class and the absolute with a 100% submission rate. His performances earned him a spot in both the ADCC and IBJJF Halls of Fame. Roger assembled a formidable team in PGF World 6, including the eventual Champion Andy Varela. Now, entering his second season as a PGF coach, can Roger pick the overall champion and assemble a team to win the league championship?
• Dean Lister: The first American inducted into the ADCC Hall of Fame, Lister has blazed a trail for American in jiu jitsu and mixed martial arts. Lister is a -99kg ADCC gold medalist, an ADCC Absolute gold medalist, and an ADCC Superfight champion – essentially hitting for the cycle to borrow a baseball term. Lister has fought in the UFC and the Pride organizations. Like Roger Gracie, Lister returns for his second year as a PGF World Coach. Many fans noted the passion Lister brought to coaching his PGF team -anyone who saw his team instruction and his coaching on the competition matches immediately knew Lister was invested in his team members’ success. Fans will be excited to see his passion return to the PGF, but also to see how he tweaks his strategy to try to make his team the PGF World 7 Champions.
• Carlos Machado: The 8th degree coral belt and eldest of the Machado brothers will have a tough task ahead of him in PGF World 7. His younger brothers, Jean Jacques and Rigan took first place and second place, respectively in the PGF World 6 season. Machado invested time into the PGF as a spectator at PGF World 6. Something must have piqued his interest, because now he’s returning as a coach. The Commissioner, Brandon Mccaghren, thinks the world of Machado – and that’s enough to make fans of the PGF take notice. But as the leader of the Machado jiu jitsu clan, one has to think he has the strategic ability to assemble a winning PGF team (and can leverage his younger brother’s experiences to help him do it).
• Pedro Sauer: The student of Rickson and Helio Gracie, Sauer earned his 8th degree coral belt. Sauer moved to California from Brasil with the first wave of bjj instructors. Sauer taught in Utah for more than 14 years, then brough BJJ to Northern Virginia. Sauer now has his headquarters in Savannah, Georgia, but also has more than 100 affiliate gyms in the US and abroad in his association. I’ll admit some bias, I spent the last three years training at one of his affiliates, at Gracie Charlottesville in Charlottesville, VA. The reverence and appreciation for Sauer that my instructors had made me a true fan. I’m very excited to see what he brings to being a coach for PGF World 7.

COMPETITORS:

20 players will take their shot at winning the team championship and the overall PGF World Season 7 Light Heavyweight title. Some competitors received invitations from the PGF World Commissioner Brandon Mccaghren. Some competitors fought their way into the season by winning one of the three season qualifiers. Yet still some other competitors will make it into the season because they caught the Commissioner’s eye during an event

THE ROSTER:

1. Ryan Aitken: The current Eddie Bravo Invitational Absolute Champion holds many titles including the Main Character Jiu Jitsu 185lb championship and the Combat Jiu Jitsu Worlds 185 championship. While Ryan likes to compete at 185lb, he’s a monster and cuts a lot of weight to get down to 185. He’s show at the EBI Absolute Championship that he has not problem with bigger guys. Ryan trains under Coach Sean Applegate at 10th Planet Atlanta. The 10th Planet Atlanta team knows the PGF very well and Coach Applegate will be sure to have Aitken ready for this season. Check out more about Aitken at his new BJJ Heroes page.
2. Adam Bradley: Bradley has been featured in a lot of jiu jitsu news as of late. He had a great run at the inaugural Craig Jones Invitational. Shortly before that Bradley made it to the finals of the ADCC West Coast trials, losing despite getting a sweep in the last seconds (it was unscored). Bradley received his black belt from Andre Galvao, but has spread out from Atos and now claims the B Team as his affiliation currently. Bradley currently serves as the head coach at The Arena, San Diego’s biggest combat sports facility. He’s a No Gi Worlds and Pan American champion. Here’s a nice intro to him from his time on Flograppling’s Who’s Next. Bradley is known as The Escape Artist, even having an instructional with the same title. While escaping is always a great skill, Bradley will have to focus on quick submissions if he wants to take the PGF World 7 Title.
3. Bradley Schneider: Training under Dante Leon at Team Adamas (a Pedigo affiliate), Schneider trains with Nic Craton (season 5 competitor), Nilo Burgener (Season 1 competitor) and Max Hanson (season 6 competitor), so Schneider should have a good idea of what it takes to compete in the PGF. Of course, it’s one thing to understand and another to experience it. Schneider has a reputation for unique submissions, so he could be a highlight waiting to happen.
4. Paul Ardila: Four-time ADCC qualifier winner, Paul Ardila is a beast. But he’s not just an athlete, he’s a dag gone Notre Dame Law graduate. Ardila brings the athleticism of a wrestler and the intelligence of lawyer to the mats. He’s dangerous and a serious contender for the overall championship. He’s also a real contender to take over as the Handsome Belt Champion, apologies to Handsome Kevin Sherrill.
5. PGF Qualifier Austin winner: Sebastian Attard. Every season, the PGF has some unknown grappler who comes to a qualifier and is a buzzsaw through all of his opponents. This season’s buzzsaw is Attard. Do yourself a favor and watch the PGF Season 7 Austin Qualifier HERE. Attard is an Australian that emigrated to Austin to train at New Wave Jiu Jitsu, arguably the best gym in the country that has produced the PGF season 4 champion and the PGF World 6 regular season point leader. The qualifier is a great watch and will give you some inside info on Attard and two reserve/replacement/bench players in Christos Papadelos and Jack Bidwell. Papadelos is the leader of Enigma Jiu Jitsu and a teammate and roommate of Attard. Bidwell is out of Brazilian Fight Factory (the Tackett Bros. gym). To bring it back to Attard, Egghead is guaranteeing that Attard gets at least 3 Elbow Genie points for subs in less than one minute this season. Attard is EXACTLY the type of competitor the PGF wants and needs. Seriously, Attard will become a star during PGF World Season 7 – I guarantee it.
6. PGF Qualifier Nashville winner: Kyle Boehm. Boehm has been a high-level grappling competitor for some time. He’s faced Gordon Ryan, Craig Jones, and every other big name you can imagine. He came into the PGF Nashville qualifier (and Nashville has always been home to fire qualifiers for the PGF, thank you One Nation Jiu Jitsu) – and he earned five submissions in less than one minute each. Boehm just Elbow Genie’d a whole damn qualifier – a qualifier full of PGF veterans and high-level competitors. Boehm will go for a lot in the auction and he’ll be worth the money. But the question is whether he can continue his super fast submissions that he showed in the qualifier once he gets into the regular season…odds are he can and will be in that post-season finale tournament.
7. Davis Asare – YOUR PGF WORLD 6 REGULAR SEASON CHAMPION! Asare showcased a truly versatile jiu jitsu game: hitting Kills and Breaks; wrestling and sitting guard. Asare let everyone know he had a truly complete game in PGF World 6. His leading regular season point total helped his XMartial Team win the PGF World 6 regular season and the $100,000 along with it. Unfortunately for him, the insane counter leg lock game of the Butter Panther PJ Barch cut short Asare’s post-season. Now, Asare is moving up a weight class (he cuts down to 180/185 normally and has had some problems in the past with the cut, so he’s bigger than the weight class says). Asare is a purple belt training under John Danaher at New Wave Jiu Jitsu. He’s won gold at numerous ADCC Opens and a recent match at the Polaris promotion. No doubt PGF fans eagerly anticipate Asare’s return; no doubt he’s going showcase some more phenomenal jiu jitsu.
8. Travis Thomas – No one outside of the 10th Planet Decatur folk anticipated much out of Thomas heading into PGF World’s 5th season. The Mantis secured 9 submissions in 12 matches, resulting in an impressive 75% submission rate. Possibly even more impressive is he never hit the same submission twice. Travis has a complete game, but more importantly, he improves at an exponential rate. The Travis Thomas entering PGF World 7 will likely be head and shoulders above the Thomas that took PGF World Season 5 by storm. But while Thomas improves constantly, the level of competition in PGF World 7 has taken a huge step up. In PGF World Season 5, Thomas showed he was a real competitor; in PGF World 7, he might just show he’s a world class competitor.
9. Elijah Carlton – “Never bet against Elijah Carlton in the PGF!” While you can hear me saying that on the last episode of the wildly amazing Grapplers: Legends and Legacy documentary, it’s just facts. Elijah was the season 1 PGF champion. He was the season 2 runner-up. He was the Season 3 regular season champ before bowing out of the playoffs because of an injury. Elijah came back for PGF Season 5, showing he still was the PGF King, winning it all. Some detractors wondered if Elijah could handle the elite competition in PGF Season 6. Elijah proved he is the man who he says he is. Elijah stepped up against some of the best grapplers in the world and finished second in the regular season. He made it to the semifinals of PGF World 6. Elijah has embraced the professional aspect of being a competitor. He has been documenting his clean bulking to make sure he’s ready for the 205lb season. I’ll say it again “Never bet against Elijah Carlton in the PGF!”
10. Ernesto Rivera – Ernesto Rivera trains out of LHM/American Top Team Atlanta. He had a great showing at the PGF World 7 Nashville qualifier, only losing to eventual winner Kyle Boehm. In other competitions, Ernesto has shown the ability to go on a submission spree. Ernesto likes to pull guard, but can pass as well. It’s hard to find a lot of his matches so competitors will likely sleep on him at their expense.
11. Chris Wojcik – Representing the B Team, Wojcik is another competitor who combines brains with his brawn. Not only is he a skilled grappler (e.g. came in fourth during the ADCC West Coast Trials), but his other occupation is writing. He’s the author of the Grappler’s Diary. There he document’s his jiu jitsu journey as well as providing advice to other practitioners. His ability to step back and critically examine his jiu jitsu journey should be a help as he faces the week-long gauntlet that is the PGF.
12. Cam Hurd – The Virginia Tech wrestler is simply a beast. Cam controls the mat. He’s a wild man, but he’s learning the PGF format. Cam has a serious front headlock game, but he’s now augmenting that game with other submissions to finish his opponent within six minutes. PGF Season 7 will be Cam’s third season – he knows the PGF and he knows what he has to do to win. Cam will be dangerous.
13. Nathan Haddad – Nathan won $20,000 as part of the PGF World 6 regular season champion X Martial team. Nathan only had one submission, a great RNC within one minute for seven points, but his real job was as the team’s stopper. Haddad Showed true dedication to the PGF, focusing on cutting weight for it and not entering the ADCC West Coast trials. Not only did he not get submitted by the top picks of the PGF draft, he actually put them in jeopardy. Haddad is a Helio Soneca black belt. He’s been training since he was a young child. Nathan is an instructor at Core Combat Sports, his family’s business. Haddad combines a lifetime of jiu jitsu, with other sports (e.g. Nathan was a state wrestling competitor). Nathan’s throw-by to RNC is a phenomenal combination.
14. Kyle Chambers – One of 10th Planet’s most prolific competitors, Chambers is tough. He trains out of !0th Planet Oceanside under coach Geo Martinez. Chambers might be the complete expression of what leg locking can be. He’s competed at lower weights, but his frame can definitely fill out to handle the 205lb competition. He’s got a very good shot at making the post season.
15. Fedor Nikolov – Fedor comes into this season as a veteran of PGF Season 5. Fedor recently earned his black belt under Eddie Bravo. Now Fedor will show what a black belt Fedor brings to the PGF. Fedor’s known for his rubber guard and dead orchard game. Rest assured, if Fedor gets his hands on his opponents, they’re in trouble.
16. Andre Porfirio – Porfirio trained multiple martial arts growing up. Eventually, his martial arts journey led him to jiu jitsu. He came to the United States as an instructor for Gracie Barra in Orlando, Fl , but ultimately led him to training under Fight Sports in Florida. Now, he’s struck out on his own. Out of 127 competition wins, he has 55% or 70 of them via submission.
17. Kemoy Anderson – We first really learned of Kemoy during the 10th Planet Qualifiers where he was constantly ripping people’s arms out of their sockets. Kemoy made some serious highlights during PGF Season 2, then returned as a coach for PGF Season 4. Kemoy served somewhat of a spoiler at PGF Season 5, finishing in second place. Kemoy showed it’s almost impossible to submit him from mount. But Kemoy also highlighted his amazing truck game. Kemoy is a PGF veteran. He has a phenomenal ankle pick game and truck game as well as the scariest kimura most of these competitors will face. Kemoy has focused more on being the promoter behind main character jiu jitsu recently, but he’s always a scary opponent when he sets up opposite someone.
18. Marcin Maciulewicz – The Polish Punisher holds many titles, including the Polaris Absolute Grand Prix 2023 Contenders; ADCC European Trials 2024; IBJJF No Gi Worlds; and IBJJF No Gi Europeans. Now he’ll test his skills in PGF World 7.
19. PGF World 7 Las Vegas Qualifier winner: Dory Aoun – “The Lebanese Tiger” showcased his smothering pressure during the qualifier. The 4X IBJJF No-Gi Champ is a former collegiate basketball and football player. As a certified trainer and coach, Aoun knows how to get himself ready for competition. His cardio will allow him to push the pace the entire six minutes of each PGF match. His endurance should make him one of the competitors who peaks as the season starts breaking other competitors.
20. Caleb Crump – The pro MMA fighter was an alternate for PGF Season 6. He didn’t get to see the mat, but he was very hungry to make his presence felt. This season he gets his chance to make his mark.

Keep following PGF World and Brandon Mccaghren on Instagram and keep tuning in to the PGF Insiders on PGF World’s YouTube page. It’s an amazing time to be a jiu jitsu fan. So much is happening to grow the sport. But the biggest thing you can do to help it become professional is to follow and support the Professional Grappling Federation World. After all, it’s everything you love about sports, plus jiu jitsu!

BTW, if you’re looking to get some new jiu jitsu gear, PGF World Season 6 Team Champions XMARTIAL has some great gear. I wrote a review of my XMartial shorts and rash guard HERE. If you use the coupon code “EGGHEAD,” you will get 15% off your order (and you’ll help me out a bit). XMARTIAL has some really fun rash guards and everyone I know loves their shorts. So check them out.