Way Too Early Draft Rankings!

Let’s get this point out of the way, these rankings are off. I’ve done a lot of research, but not the 20lb brain research as of yet. I’ll keep improving my fighting position, but I wanted to get some rankings our there before we did our PGF Insider Mock Draft. If you think I got these rankings wrong, shoot me a DM at Egghead Warrior and let me know. I’ll put out another ranking as we get close to the season and your input might inform my updated rankings.

*NOTE: This list is not official. While I am an analyst for the PGF, anything I write here is not “official.”

THE RANKINGS:

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. 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.
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. 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.
7. Travis Thomas – Thomas came into PGF Season 5 as a purple belt who was known for his MMA aspirations. The 4X PGF Womens Champion Kiaya Jackson spent almost half her draft budget on Thomas. But the folks from Alabama knew something the rest of us didn’t – Thomas is a straight KILLER! Thomas recorded a 75% submission rate in PGF Season 5 with 42% of his matches leading to a KILL! He has one of the highest points per match stats in PGF history with 3.58, meaning he’s going to put points on the board when he steps on the mat. Seriously, he recorded nine submissions in the regular season and all nine submissions were unique. Thomas is a problem. Coaches and competitors overlooking him will have a rude awakening as he submits his way to the playoffs this season. If you want to learn about Thomas, check out the PGF Season 5 documentary Grapplers No Gi No Money.
8. 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!”
9. Breylor Grout – A black belt under Keelan Cornelius, Grout represents Legion Jiu Jitsu. He was featured in the Who’s Next: Submission Fighter Challenge. He is a IBJJF No-Gi Pans brown belt champion. His best submission is his darce choke which will get him six points every time he hits it. Just a month ago, Grout won a hard-fought match at Subversiv. He also recently won a 32-competitor bracket to earn $10k at Mat Assassins with four submissions and one win via points. Apparently, Grout is a data analyst at NCI Information Systems, so one might think he will watch the prior PGF seasons and come up with a solid strategy for this season. Whether through strategy or just his skill, Grout should be primed to make an impression in the PGF.
10. 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.
11. 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.
12. 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.
13. 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.
14. 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.
15. 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.
16. 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.
17. 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.
18. 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.
19. 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.
20. Stuart Cooper: Stepping out from behind the camera, Cooper aims to show he’s not just the OG jiu jitsu videographer, but a serious competitor. Cooper has inspired so many to train jiu jitsu and to become videographers, but he’s also a practitioner who’s been training since around 2008 (check out that podcast, it’s a great interview with Cooper). Cooper’s video highlights of the ADCC seriously grew the sport. Cooper first became involved with the PGF during PGF World Season 6 where he produced a phenomenal highlight video. Cooper has had a wild life, living in England, Thailand, Canada, and having lots of adventures. Now, Cooper gets the chance to challenge himself with the crucible that is the PGF season. Competitors will sleep on him, but he’ll show them old age and deceit/craftiness will often beat youth and vigor.

As discussed above, this list is way too early and I need to do more research. So what did I get wrong? Let me know and maybe your favorite grappler will move up in the rankings.

Keep following PGF World and Brandon Mccaghren on Instagram and keep tuning in to the PGF Insiders on PGF World’s YouTube page. We normally go live at 7pm Eastern on Sundays. If you want a comprehensive article that breaks down everything we know about PGF World Season 7, check out my “All the Details” article. 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.