#PGF7: Day 1 Recap: Expect the Unexpected

Parity isn’t a sexy word, but it’s the reality for most professional sports – and now it would seem to be the reality of the Professional Grappling World Season 7. And when you have parity, it’s really hard to predict what will happen. This uncertainty brings suspense and excitement because you never know the results going into a match. As some folks have said about other sports – it’s why they play the game. Let’s look back at what happened on Day 1.

POLISH POWER ON DISPLAY

Most fans knew little about Marcin Maciulewicz heading into PGF Season 7. The “Polish Punisher” mostly competes in Europe. Those researching before the seasons would have discovered he’s a IBJJF Worlds Brown Belt champ in 2023. Marcin also won the 2024 ADCC European qualifier, putting down five competitors. But a bad draw at the actual 2024 ADCC didn’t give him the opportunity to shine on the big stage. Well, MARCIN HAS SHOWN OUT NOW! In the first block, Marcin jumped right into the leg game against a highly-regarded leg locker in Andre Porfirio. Marcin scored a z-lock on Porfirio in less than one minute. Marcin earned four points: one bonus point for the quick submission and three points for the break, which actually made Porfirio not return to the mats on day 1. Marcin followed up his first match with a banger against Paul Ardila, who everyone picked in the top 2 in pre-season rankings. Marcin didn’t get a submission, but he earned everyone’s respect. Marcin rounded out the night with another break against Bradley Schneider, finishing the night as one of two competitors with multiple submissions. Second on the leader board, Marcin is showing us he’s right: everyone will know him by the end of PGF Season 7.

THERE’S A REASON RYAN AITKEN WAS NUMBER ONE

In the PGF pre-season rankings, the Editorial Board at Eggheadwarrior.com had Ryan Aitken on top. Both in the mock drafts and the real draft, Coaches hoarded money in an effort to land Aitken. The legend Pedro Sauer and his New Hope Regeneration team found a way to land the consensus number one ranked PGF 7 competitor. Heading into the first day, many expected Aitken to possibly not put up any points. Aitken had to face the best competitors from two of his opposing teams and a top-3 ranked opponent. In the first block, Aitken faced that top-3 competitor in Kyle Boehm. Aitken showed he deserved his ranking, giving the third-ranked Boehm everything he could handle. The match ended in a draw, but it could have been the main card on almost any show and the fans would have been happy. Then, Aitken faced the best competitors on team Constellation in Chris Wojcik and team Intrana in Davis Asare. Aitken took out the PGF Season 6 regular season champ Davis Asare with a leg lock that made everyone in the audience cringe, hearing Asare’s ankle rip. Aitken added an exclamation point to the night in the final block. Even though Wojcik took their last match (by ref decision), Aitken scored a rear-naked choke against his jiu jitsu nemesis, earning six points for the Kill. With his breakout performance in day one, Aitken put his New Hope Regeneration team in first place. Aitken proved he deserved to be number one.

THE YANKEES/DODGERS DIDN’T PULL AWAY FROM THE PACK

Roger Gracie’s 1st Phorm Team looked like world beaters after the dust settled on the PGF 7 Draft. Paul Ardila and Kyle Boehm on the team were both in most fans’ top 3 in pre-season rankings. Then he added the super-dangerous Kyle Chambers and CJI Semi-Finalist Adam Bradley. Finally, Roger rounded his squad out with Dory Aoun, seen by most to be this season’s stopper (the player who could face the best competitors of every team and stop them from scoring any points on him). Ardila got the team off to a fast start with a quick break in the first round to put them on the board with four points for the break plus the Elbow Genie quick submission bonus point. But besides Ardila, the rest of the highly-regarded 1st Phorm team couldn’t put points on the board in the first two rounds. The PGF has humbled many top competitors in past seasons. Unlike other competitions, the PGF features six-minute matches where the only way to put points on the board is to get a submission – this format requires grappling at a sprinting pace. The 1st Phorm team put on great performances in their matches but couldn’t get submissions in the first two blocks. In the final block of the night, the 1st Phorm team seemed to get into the groove of the PGF. Both Kyle Chambers and Adam Bradley scored breaks in the final block, showing fans a glimpse of what the 1st Phorm team will likely bring to their opponents in the rest of the PGF Season. The third block showed us the sleeping giant might just have awoken. It might be a tougher row to hoe, but 1st Phorm definitely has the talent to win the $100,000 regular season team championship prize.

NEVER BET AGAINST ELIJAH IN THE PGF

Elijah Carlton took the PGF by storm in PGF Season 1, submitting all his opponents to become the inaugural champion. Since then he’s gone on to be the Season 2 runner-up, Season 3 regular season champion, Season 5 Champion, and made the playoffs in Season 6, getting wins against world champions. As detailed in this short article, we detailed how every time critics have counted Elijah out in the PGF, he’s proven them wrong. This season, critics were wondering how Elijah could go up in weight class, especially as the level of renowned competition increases. Once again, Elijah showed why he’s the king of the PGF. He had to settle for draws in the first two block, but he finished super strong. Facing the highly touted stopper Dory Aoun, Elijah sank in his patented triangle – with the setup he made famous in the PGF. This KILL earned Elijah six points and helped his Intrana team tie for first in the third block earning Elijah and each of his teammates a team block bonus point. Elijah finished the night in third place.

RESERVES NO MORE

A week before PGF Season 7 started, LHM’s Ernesto Rivera was planning on heading to Las Vegas as a bench player – hoping to get a match if he was lucky. Then, legendary jiu jitsu videographer Stuart Cooper sustained an injury in a competition the week before PGF Season 7 draft. Ernesto Rivera quickly found himself elevated to PGF Season 7’s regular roster. With a short time on the main roster, it seemed the coaches might not have known a lot about Rivera other than he was the PGF Season 7 Nashville Qualifier runner-up. Despite low expectations, Rivera showed he belonged amongst the stacked PGF 7 main roster. In the first match of the season, Rivera had a highly competitive match with the very dangerous Kyle Chambers (he had actually won against Chambers in a different promotion via points previously). It ended in a draw, but it was highly entertaining. Then, Rivera shocked everyone in the second block with a break against Nathan Haddad – who hadn’t been submitted throughout all of PGF Season 6. Ernesto had another great match against Fedor Nikolov in the third block, showing he definitely was just as good or better than the rest of the main roster.

Abraham “the Mountain” La Mantagne flipped the script on the legendary PGF Season 7 coaches during the draft. As the most desired reserve player, he made them try to convince him why he should join their team, earning promises of seminars and even receiving tax advice from the bjj legends. Due to prior interactions with Master Carlos Machado, Abe chose a home in Team Intrana. While many expected the reserve players to make an impact, the Mountain entered in BLOCK 2! After Marcin took out Porfirio (see above), Abe took over Porfirio’s spot. Abe immediately made his presence felt, hitting a break on Bradley Schneider, putting the first points on the board for his Intrana team. Abe also took four time ADCC qualifier winner Paul Ardila to a draw in block 3. So Abe came off the bench, adding points and stopping a top-ranked opponent in the first round. He’s already performed as well as any reserve player has ever performed and that was only day 2. Undoubtedly, Rivera and the Mountain will put up more points this season. They’ve both proved they deserved spots on the main roster.

ALWAYS IMPROVING – AND A FANTASY STAR

Cam Hurd entered PGF Season 5 essentially as a wrestling specialist. Cam wrestled for Virginia Tech, having some real success but was robbed of his final season of eligibility due to an error during what was supposed to be his redshirt season. That unfulfilled promise seems to drive him as he dedicates himself to excellence on the mats even as he maintains a serious career and still makes time for his family. Well-regarded as the most improved competitor in the PGF, Cam doesn’t just settle for wrestling and threatening with front headlock submissions. He has added leg attacks to his game as well as crazy left and right passing. Good luck submitting Cam, he shows his D1 athleticism, scrambling like crazy out of serious threats. Cam didn’t put up any PGF points towards his playoff race rankings, but he was near the top of the players in the fantasy standings due to his takedowns. Cam will be a promising fantasy start going forward, but he will always be fan favorite and an exciting competitor to watch. Cam is exactly the type of competitor who makes the PGF great.

Normally, I’d give you some things to watch, going into PGF Day 2, but I have another article to finish – doing the same thing, but with the fantasy context in mind. So, standby as we finish the PGF Season 7, Day 2 fantasy projections. You have time to join the fantasy competition at PGF.global – and you can set your teams up until the matches start today. Be sure to watch today’s matches live and free on YouTube HERE.