#PGF7 – Day 2 Recap

New Hope Regeneration proves every day that people can get a stem cell treatment within the United States that can change the trajectory of their patient’s health and wellness. As last season’s championship team members found out, one visit to New Hope Regenerattion could dramatically affect all their grappling injuries. Fittingly, New Hope Regeneration’s PGF World 7 team showed how just one block of play could dramatically affect the trajectory of their season. Let’s look at some of the things that happened during PGF World Season 7, Day 2.

NEW HOPE REGENERATION DOMINATE DAY 2

Team New Hope Regeneration was in the lead heading into day 2, but they were only two points and three points in front of the second and third place teams, respectively. Team Captain Ryan Aitken kept them in the lead during block 1, securing a submission to match Team 1st Phorm’s Kyle Boehm (more below) and Team Constellation’s Marcin Maciulewicz’s additions to their teams’ scores. But Block 2 may have been Team New Hope Regeneration’s Championship block.

Bradley Schneider talks to PGF Announcer Stephen Eakin after his first win of the season. Photo Courtesy of Walo Jay.

In Block 2, late addition to the active roster, Ernesto Rivera got things started quickly. Rivera sank in a triangle against a very tough Caleb Crump, putting six points on the board for his team with the Kill. Bradley Schneider who had previously been subbed in every block of this season, flipped the script on everyone by hitting an arm bar on Nathan Haddad. Scheider’s quick submission earned him and his team four points, three for the Break plus the Elbow Genie bonus point for the submission within one minute.

New Hope Regeneration’s Travis Thomas works towards a submission. Photo Courtesy of Walo Jay.

The Mountain was able to force a draw in the next match, but Travis Thomas put the exclamation point on the block. Thomas faced Intrana’s reserve player Kris Olivo. After defending a serious guillotine attack early (and being “pantsed” in the process), Thomas sank in a deep darce choke, forcing Olivo to use his feet to tap. Thomas’s Kill added another six points. These gentlemen scored 16 points for their New Hope Regeneration team, which is more than any other team has total, heading into day 3. But Team New Hope Regeneration can’t rest on their laurels – they showed PGF fortunes can dramatically shift in just one block.

HIGHLY-RANKED COMPETITORS GET ON THE BOARD

B Team member Chris Wojcik talks to PGF World Announcer Stephen Eakin after his win. Photo Courtesy of Walo Jay.

B Team’s Chris Wojcik has had a great 2024, culminating in a fourth place finish at ADCC, in the same city as the undisclosed location that hosts the PGF. But Wojcik had difficulty securing submissions in his four matches. Multiple high-level competitors had likewise failed to earn points via Kills or Breaks. In the PGF, we are accustomed to stars in other organizations entering the gauntlet that is the PGF World and not getting the wins they expected. Wojcik found his way onto the scoreboard with an aoki lock during block 2 of day 2.

Chris Wojcik sinks in the submission on Dory Aoun. Photo Courtesy of Walo Jay.

Wojcik’s aoki lock was so devastating, it forced the extremely tough and durable Dory Aoun to not return to the mats. Earlier today, we found out Dory in fact has headed home, having no chance to recover from that submission. Coming into today, Wojcik faces the tough Caleb Crump, rising star Ernesto Rivera, and whomever subs in for the injured Adam Bradley. One has to think Wojcik is looking to hit three more leg locks in order to secure a spot in the PGF Playoffs.

PGF ref Heath (not weird Al) raises Kyle Boehm’s hand after Boehm’s first PGF submission. Photo Courtesy of Walo Jay.

10th Planet Freak Kyle Boehm has faced the top jiu jitsu competitors in the world. But heading into day 2 of the PGF, he had no submissions to his name. Boehm came out quickly and not only locked down a sub, but he hit it within one minute, earning the Elbow Genie bonus point. After the match, Boehm told the fans to expect more submissions. He said his first two days were his hard days and he had a much better schedule in the second half of the season. On day three, Boehm faces 3rd place Ernesto Rivera, newly-submittable Nathan Haddad, and PGF Season 5 veteran Fedor Nikolov. As every competitor knows, one submission won’t be enough to make the playoffs. With the experience, skill, and sheer size to submit anyone on the roster and he has to be aiming to do just that to the gentlemen lining up against him today.

Photo Courtesy of Walo Jay.

Be sure to to tune into PGF Season 7 Day 3 at 7pm Eastern on the PGF World YouTube Channel. It’s going to be exciting!

#PGF7 – Day 3 Fantasy Predictions

Day 3 normally breaks competitors. In PGF Season 7, competitors have been breaking since the first block. When evaluating your team, you want to look at mismatches as always. With so many competitors hurt or injured and replaced by reserve players, many main roster competitors will find unanticipated great matchups today. Going with the stars has been a viable strategy this season, but day 3 is very much a day fantasy standouts can happen due to the right matchups.

Make sure to go to PGF.global and set your team before the first match starts. We will have daily and the overall fantasy champion.

Ryan Aitken – 19 points (2 kills, 1 break, 2 back takes)

Aitken is still your leading scorer. Now his schedule has him likely facing two replacement/bench players and Nathan Haddad who has been much more submittable than last season. He has to be on your roster. Facing Adam Bradley B Team JiuJitsu (Schwartzapfel/Souza); Kemoy Anderson 10th Planet Austin (possibly Drew Dyer); Nathan Haddad Helio Soneca Association.

Kyle Boehm – 16 (2 kills, 2 back points).

Boehm got on the board quickly on day 2 with a break and an elbow genie point. But his opponents stalled him out for the last two matches. Kyle even told us these next two days are his better matchup days. Kyle is betting on himself to make a run in the second half of the PGF World 7 season and I think we should get a piece of that action. Facing Ernesto Rivera American Top Team – Atlanta; Nathan Haddad Helio Soneca Association; Fedor Nikolov 10th Planet Saint-Petersburg.

Paul Ardila – 15 points (2 break, 1 kill, 1 back, 1 takedown)

Paul has to put points on the board. Now he has a much more favorable lineup than his first two days. Look for Ardila to score in all three matches. Facing Cameron Hurd Ascend/TDBJJ; Caleb Crump Easton Training Center – Centennial; Kemoy Anderson 10th Planet Austin (Drew Dyer).

Davis Asare – 12 points (1 kill, 1 break, 1 takedown, 1 back).

Davis and Cam Hurd could be a really fun scrap. If Davis’ ankle holds up, he has the courage to stand toe-to-toe with a D1 wrestler –  but Cam has shown he’s hard to finish. Asare could use his speed and athleticism to get past Fedor’s guard and he’s likely also facing a reserve player instead of Bradley. Asare will be looking to capitalize on this lineup – and he probably will. Facing Fedor Nikolov 10th Planet Saint-Petersburg; Adam Bradley B Team JiuJitsu (Sam Schwartzapfel/Deyvson Souza); Cameron Hurd Ascend/TDBJJ.

Cam Hurd – 9 points (5 takedowns, 1 back, 1 mount)

Cam’s fantasy-friendly style should be on display today. He has three opponents who have the guts to stand with him. Cam’s shown he’s improved so much that he has the ability to hang with this level of competition, but he’s facing some of the best today. You have to think Cam is looking to get his PGF Season 6 loss to Asare back. He said he wasn’t making an excuse that they ran into the couches allowing Asare to finish the Darce on Cam – but you have to think that still stings. Put Cam on your roster and cheer for him like every other fan of the PGF.  Facing Paul Ardila American Top Team – Atlanta; Marcin Maciulewicz Aligatores Fight Club; Davis Asare New Wave JiuJitsu.

Chris Wojcik – 9 Points.

Wojcik will show he’s a world-class grappler today. He’s going to rip three leg locks against his opponents – write that down. Facing Caleb Crump Easton Training Center – Centennial; Ernesto Rivera American Top Team – Atlanta; Adam Bradley B Team JiuJitsu (Schwartzapfel/Souza).

Travis Thomas – 9 points (1 break, 1 kill)

Travis sunk in a nice darce against a reserve player on day 2. He’s shown some great athleticism and strength, but overall not a lot of points. He got Fedor with a straight ankle in the 10P Qualifier for 2023 Combat Jiu Jitsu Worlds. It would not be crazy to see him get a sub against Fedor again and possibly sneak in a sub against Porfiriro as well. Facing Kyle Chambers 10th Planet Freaks; Fedor Nikolov 10th Planet Saint-Petersburg; Andre Porfirio Alpha Miami Grappling.

Marcin Maciulewicz – 6 points (2 breaks)

Marcin is a killer. PERIOD! I’m excited to see if he stands against Cam. His size could make a fun wrestling match, but I think Cam takes him in the standing. Still, Marcin is so dangerous. You have to think Marcin finds a way to get a sub against Hurd and Dory (or replacement). Facing Elijah Carlton 10th planet Atlanta; Cameron Hurd Ascend/TDBJJ; Dory Aoun HUSTLE BRAZILIAN JIU-JITSU (IBJJFF) (Drew Dyer).

Brad Schneider –  6 points (2 breaks or 1 kill).

Scheider was thought to be “couchable” but he showed he can get some subs. If Dory is still out, Schneider could face Sam Schwartz who allowed five submissions as a reserve player in PGF Season 6. Besides that match, he faces two other opponents who have found themselves in the bottom half of the roster in the standings. These are winnable matches so consider putting him on your roster. Facing Dory Aoun HUSTLE BRAZILIAN JIU-JITSU (IBJJFF) (Sam Schwartz/Deyvson Souza); Sebastian Attard Grappling Education; Caleb Crump Easton Training Center – Centennial.

Andre Porfirio/Abe the Mountain La Matagne – 6 points (2 break).

Porfirio is set to return on Day 3. People who know are afraid of Porfirio’s ankle locks.  Porfirio likes to sit and play de la Riva guard, then break folks’ ankles. Facing two reserve players, he’s got a great shot to do so. Facing Kemoy Anderson 10th Planet Austin (Drew Dyer); Dory Aoun HUSTLE BRAZILIAN JIU-JITSU (IBJJFF) (Deyvson Sousa/Sam Schwartzapfel); Travis Thomas 10th planet Decatur.

Elijah Carlton – 6 points (1 kill)

No matter what the editorial board of Eggheadwarrior.com says, if we don’t say Elijah will get 21 points (all kills in less than one minute), Elijah will give us some grief. Elijah is facing some serous competition today. He’s the best in this format, but the best he can likely hope for is a kill against Rivera…and that would be something considering how well Rivera has done. There’s a very real possibility Elijah doesn’t get any points today. Facing Marcin Maciulewicz Aligatores Fight Club; Kyle Chambers 10th Planet Freaks; Ernesto Rivera American Top Team – Atlanta.

Kyle Chambers – 3 points (1 breaks)

Chambers has had a muted experience at the PGF. He has ridiculous leglock skills but he’s facing two competitors who do their best work at the PGF in Eliijah and Travis. Kyle could surprise and catch them, because he can catch anyone. Kyle’s best shot is against Attard, but Attard has shown he’s very resilient. Facing Travis Thomas 10th planet Decatur; Elijah Carlton 10th planet Atlanta; Sebastian Attard Grappling Education.

Sebastian Attard – 3 points (1 break).

Attard is still looking for his signature moment of his PGF experience. He’s going to get a signature sub and he has to be targeting Haddad for that moment. Haddad has been very hard to sub in the past, but Attard will be looking to give it everything he has to get that moment. Facing Nathan Haddad Helio Soneca Association; Bradley Schneider Pedigo Submission Fighting (Schwartzapfel/Souza); Kyle Chambers 10th Planet Freaks.

Ernesto Rivera – 0 points

Rivera faces his hardest lineup today. Boehm and Wojcik are known, national-level grapplers. Elijah is the king of the PGF. Rivera has some experience with Elijah, at least being in the same Atlanta-area circles. Rivera has surpassed all expectations this season, but he’s facing some serious competitions and they are all leg lockers, meaning it will be hard to get fantasy points against them. Facing Kyle Boehm 10th Planet Freaks; Chris Wojcik B Team JiuJitsu; Elijah Carlton 10th planet Atlanta.

Dory Aoun /Deyvson Souza/Sam Schwartzapfel – 0 points

Dory likely cannot continue. His reserve counterparts are not great options for fantasy points. Sam is a world-class wrestler, but he was subbed a good bit during Season 6. Facing Bradley Schneider Pedigo Submission Fighting; Andre Porfirio Alpha Miami Grappling; Marcin Maciulewicz Aligatores Fight Club.

Caleb Crump – 0 points.

Heading into day 2, everyone would have circled that match against Schneider, then he ripped off two submissions in his last two blocks. Crump is becoming a fan favorite due to his grit and durability, but he’s facing two of the top grapplers on the roster and a very cagey Schneider. Look for great matches from Crump, but not meaningful fantasy points. Facing Chris Wojcik B Team JiuJitsu; Paul Ardila American Top Team – Atlanta; Bradley Schneider Pedigo Submission Fighting.

Fedor Nikolov – 0 points

Fedor has been forced to settle for draws in all of his matches. He can’t seem to get his rubber guard game going (and when he has, he has not been able to finish the sub). His pace is methodical, which makes it hard for him to hit a quick sub. He shouldn’t be on your roster until he shows he can bank some points. Facing Davis Asare New Wave JiuJitsu; Travis Thomas 10th planet Decatur; Kyle Boehm 10th Planet Freaks.

Kemoy Anderson – 0 points

Kemoy has not taken advantage of his matchups in the first two days, now he faces three monsters. He had to bow out of on day 2 with a back injury. If he comes back (a little banged up) and facing this caliber of competitor, don’t expect points.  Facing Andre Porfirio Alpha Miami Grappling; Ryan Aitken 10th planet Atlanta; Paul Ardila American Top Team – Atlanta.

Nathan Haddad – 0 points.

Haddad has had a rough go of it in PGF Season 7. Nathan has shown some serious athleticism and scrambling/escaping ability, but it seems these bigger guys have just that extra little bit of strength or grips to sink in the submissions against Haddad. Haddad now faces two scary individuals in Boehm and Aitken. And you have to think Attard is looking to get on the board in his match against Haddad. Even though Haddad shows his positional skill and therefore fantasy points against other standup players – he’s facing three leglockers today. Don’t put him on your roster. Facing: Sebastian Attard Grappling Education; Kyle Boehm 10th Planet Freaks; Ryan Aitken 10th planet Atlanta.

Adam Bradley – 0 points (Schwartzapfel/Souza)

There’s a real chance Bradley is out for the season. Don’t put him on your roster. Facing: Ryan Aitken 10th planet Atlanta; Davis Asare New Wave JiuJitsu; Chris Wojcik B Team JiuJitsu

Friends, you know I love the PGF and especially PGF fantasy. It’s what got me connected to the PGF. We’ve had some issues with the website, but we have the teams managers have locked in every day. The nerds are working on the website to allow us to show all the scores and the leaderboard – but even if we can’t show it right now. I will find a way to make sure we let all the participants know who won each day and who the overall winner was. After all, how else would you find out you all lost to Egghead’s Warriors?

Thanks for playing and for watching the PGF. We’re constantly trying to make this product better for you and the athletes. Everyone involved has a true passion for this event and I hope it shows.

Best,

Egghead

#PGFS7 – Day 2 Fantasy Predictions!

We’ve received a bunch of new data after seeing how things shook out on PGF Season 7 Day 1. Now, the predictions should be closer, but that’s also why they play the game.

Please see the PGF Season 7 Day 1 recap article HERE for more of a preamble. But without any further ado, here’s the predictions:

Ryan Aitken – 16 points (2 kills, 2 back takes)

We’re not doubting him again. Aitken has some tough opponents, but he gets the benefit of the doubt until he’s proven wrong. On the other hand, we could see a regression to the mean where he shows he’s a mere human. But our money is on cyborg Aitken, sent back from the future to wreck other grapplers.

Dory Aoun HUSTLE BRAZILIAN JIU-JITSU (IBJJFF)
Ryan Aitken 10th planet Atlanta

Ryan Aitken 10th planet Atlanta
Abe “The Mountain” La Matagne / Andre Porfirio Alpha Miami Grappling

Sebastian Attard Grappling Education
Ryan Aitken 10th planet Atlanta

Kemoy Anderson – 14 points (1 Kill, 1 Break, 1 back, 2 takedowns)

Okay, Kemoy ended Day 1 with -1 fantasy points. I was wrong. But Kemoy knows the game and he’s a damn beast. Today, he faces some beatable opponents. If Kemoy wants to make the finale, which you know he does, he has to be targeting Schneider and Haddad. Schneider has been submitted in each of his matches and Haddad was submitted twice on Day 1. Chambers has a pretty quick win in his prior match against Kemoy, so Kemoy will likely try to just get a draw in that match. I know I was very much wrong betting on Kemoy yesterday, but he has a very good lineup today to score fantasy points. If we’re wrong today, well – the benefit of the doubt will go away.

Nathan Haddad Helio Soneca Association
Kemoy Anderson 10th Planet Austin

Kyle Chambers 10th Planet Freaks
Kemoy Anderson 10th Planet Austin

Kemoy Anderson 10th Planet Austin
Bradley Schneider Pedigo Submission Fighting

Paul Ardila – 13 points (three breaks, two takedowns, one mount)

Paul has a target on his back (your welcome). He faced some of his toughest #PGF7 opponents on Day 1, now he needs to get to work putting more points on the board. He faces his training partner in Ernesto Rivera, which you have to think he will “big brother.” Then he faces Nikolov and Haddad. They’ve been tough, but both have been submitted before. Ardila needs to make the most of today if he wants to earn the PGF7 title.

Paul Ardila American Top Team – Atlanta
Ernesto Rivera American Top Team – Atlanta

Paul Ardila American Top Team – Atlanta
Fedor Nikolov 10th Planet Saint-Petersburg

Paul Ardila American Top Team – Atlanta
Nathan Haddad Helio Soneca Association

Kyle Boehm – 12 points.

Yes, Boehm didn’t get any points in day 1. Yes, he’s facing a very tough set of opponents. Still, the fanboys in the Editorial Board of Eggheadwarrior.com have convinced us that Boehm’s making a move today. He’s faced the best. He’s defeated the best. Boehm’s rise to the top is…inevitable.

Kyle Boehm 10th Planet Freaks
Bradley Schneider Pedigo Submission Fighting

Kyle Boehm 10th Planet Freaks
Marcin Maciulewicz Aligatores Fight Club

Kyle Boehm 10th Planet Freaks
Abe “the Mountain” La Matagne / Andre Porfirio Alpha Miami Grappling

Nathan Haddad – 10 points. (kill, takedown, back take)

Haddad has his best shot today to hit his potent, throw-by, to back take, to RNC combo. I’m not saying against whom, because I don’t want to jinx it. Nathan’s a good kid and I really want him to do well.

Nathan Haddad Helio Soneca Association
Kemoy Anderson 10th Planet Austin

Bradley Schneider Pedigo Submission Fighting
Nathan Haddad Helio Soneca Association

Paul Ardila American Top Team – Atlanta
Nathan Haddad Helio Soneca Association

Kyle Chambers – 9 points (3 breaks)

Chambers came up short on his first two matches, settling for two draws. Still, he had a very nice break in his third match -against a PGF veteran who had 0 losses in PGF Season 6. Now he faced Kemoy who he’s leg-locked quickly in a prior match. Crump and Cam have been super tough this season, but Chambers knows he needs the points. Crump previously defeated Chambers in another promotion via points – so Chambers might have some extra motivation to avenge that prior loss.

Kyle Chambers 10th Planet Freaks
Cameron Hurd Ascend/TDBJJ

Kyle Chambers 10th Planet Freaks
Kemoy Anderson 10th Planet Austin

Kyle Chambers 10th Planet Freaks
Caleb Crump Easton Training Center – Centennial

Ernesto Rivera – 9 points (1 takedown, 2 back, 1 kill)

Rivera maybe Handsome Kevin Sherrill has infected the Editorial Board of Eggheadwarrior.com, but Ernesto might just get the dunk on Caleb, heading that way with a takedown and a back take. It might more likely be a break, or even a draw, but Ernesto has to find a way to score.

Paul Ardila American Top Team – Atlanta
Ernesto Rivera American Top Team – Atlanta

Ernesto Rivera American Top Team – Atlanta
Caleb Crump Easton Training Center – Centennial

Marcin Maciulewicz Aligatores Fight Club
Ernesto Rivera American Top Team – Atlanta

Adam Bradley – 7 points (one break, two mounts)

Bradley had some favorable matchups on Day 1, but only scored one break and got one mount. Travis Thomas’ athleticism and burgeoning skill has made him a very hard opponent – it’s tough to get fantasy points against him. Attard will likely sit, but Bradley has to think Attard is his best shot at some points. Of course, if Bradley could take out fan favorites in Thomas or Elijah, he would quickly quiet any of his PGF critics.

Adam Bradley B Team JiuJitsu
Travis Thomas 10th planet Decatur

Adam Bradley B Team JiuJitsu
Sebastian Attard Grappling Education

Adam Bradley B Team JiuJitsu
Elijah Carlton 10th planet Atlanta

Elijah Carlton – 6 points (two breaks)

Turn your PGF hymnals to page 3. Let us sing the refrain “Never bet against Elijah in the PGF.”  Cam has been a teammate of Elijah, then was on the receiving end of one of Elijah’s deadly triangles in PGF Season 6. The best guess is that Elijah threatens Cam with the triangle as misdirection to find one of his leglocks. Elijah faces two B Team greats in Wojcik and Bradley. Getting a submission against either would be a big feather in Elijah’s cap. But the B Team came to the PGF – and the PGF is Elijah’s house. The house money says Elijah finds a way to get an “upset” against at least one of the B Team crew for a break and three points.

Elijah Carlton 10th planet Atlanta
Chris Wojcik B Team JiuJitsu

Cameron Hurd Ascend/TDBJJ
Elijah Carlton 10th planet Atlanta

Adam Bradley B Team JiuJitsu
Elijah Carlton 10th planet Atlanta

Marcin Maciulewicz – 6 points (2 breaks)

Marcin hit the PGF with some purpose. He’s here to make his name known. Now that he can’t surprise anyone, his mission will be harder, but he’s such a killer – it might not matter. He faces a now human Davis Asare (who is much, much lighter than him) and a former reserve player in Rivera. Marcin has a good shot to get breaks against them. If Marcin can shoot the moon and sub all three, he’ll be a legend. But you can count on a couple of subs, most likely.

Davis Asare New Wave JiuJitsu
Marcin Maciulewicz Aligatores Fight Club

Kyle Boehm 10th Planet Freaks
Marcin Maciulewicz Aligatores Fight Club

Marcin Maciulewicz Aligatores Fight Club
Ernesto Rivera American Top Team – Atlanta

Andre Porfirio/Abe the Mountain La Matagne – 3 points (1 break).

Porfirio is likely still out, meaning the Mountain will take his place. The Mountain is as wide as he is tall as TJ De Santis said. Abe had a great showing on Day 1, immediately getting a sub and then forcing a draw against Paul Ardila. Abe might just get that Abe lock against Fedor as it’s a newer thing, but you have to think Aitken and Boehm will be wise to it.

Andre Porfirio Alpha Miami Grappling
Fedor Nikolov 10th Planet Saint-Petersburg

Ryan Aitken 10th planet Atlanta
Andre Porfirio Alpha Miami Grappling

Kyle Boehm 10th Planet Freaks
Andre Porfirio Alpha Miami Grappling

Sebastian Attard – 3 points (one break).

I talked to Sebastian after yesterday. As an admitted Attard fan, I reminded him of how PJ Barch said the PGF was just “F’d” as an experience for even the best grapplers. Sebastian faces some serious beasts in Aitken and Bradley, and even Crump. Attard must be targeting Crump as a possible way to get on the board. A sub against Crump would be tough, but understandable. But a sub against the “Escape Artist” or Aitken is a tall order.

Caleb Crump Easton Training Center – Centennial
Sebastian Attard Grappling Education

Adam Bradley B Team JiuJitsu
Sebastian Attard Grappling Education

Sebastian Attard Grappling Education
Ryan Aitken 10th planet Atlanta

Cam Hurd – 0 points

I am a serious Cam Hurd fan. You could put him up against anyone and I want to watch that scrap…because Cam will make it a BATTLE! But Cam is facing three competitors who like to play guard. All three of his opponents are likely to pull guard, eliminating the chance Cam can get you those awesome takedown points he earned his fantasy managers on day 1. Cam has the style to really make a fantasy difference, but it’s less likely when his opponents sit to their buts on their own accord. Expect great matches but few points.

Kyle Chambers 10th Planet Freaks
Cameron Hurd Ascend/TDBJJ

Cameron Hurd Ascend/TDBJJ
Elijah Carlton 10th planet Atlanta

Fedor Nikolov 10th Planet Saint-Petersburg
Cameron Hurd Ascend/TDBJJ

Dory Aoun – 0 points

Dory’s tough as can be, but he’s facing the best competitor of the three other teams. This day is his toughest challenge. He’ll attack, but he won’t submit.

Dory Aoun HUSTLE BRAZILIAN JIU-JITSU (IBJJFF)
Ryan Aitken 10th planet Atlanta

Dory Aoun HUSTLE BRAZILIAN JIU-JITSU (IBJJFF)
Chris Wojcik B Team JiuJitsu

Dory Aoun HUSTLE BRAZILIAN JIU-JITSU (IBJJFF)
Davis Asare New Wave JiuJitsu

Travis Thomas – Unknown

Travis has shown positional dominance, but none of the killing strokes he highlighted in PGF Season 5. Maybe he made too much of a name for himself that season. He faces very formidable foes today and we’re excited for him to prove us wrong.

Adam Bradley B Team JiuJitsu
Travis Thomas 10th planet Decatur

Travis Thomas 10th planet Decatur
Davis Asare New Wave JiuJitsu

Chris Wojcik B Team JiuJitsu
Travis Thomas 10th planet Decatur

Chris Wojcik – 0 Points.

Wojcik is very smart and very talented, but he hasn’t scored yet. He’s facing another set of rough opponents and will to put points on the board to earn a spot on your roster.

Elijah Carlton 10th planet Atlanta
Chris Wojcik B Team JiuJitsu

Dory Aoun HUSTLE BRAZILIAN JIU-JITSU (IBJJFF)
Chris Wojcik B Team JiuJitsu

Chris Wojcik B Team JiuJitsu
Travis Thomas 10th planet Decatur

Davis Asare – 0 points.

Davis is a legend. He went from regular season champion to coming out as a stopper after having a ridiculous pop/tear against him. But his valiant efforts didn’t get him any points (well, one team point) and now he faces another murder’s row. Asare isn’t a good choice for today.

Davis Asare New Wave JiuJitsu
Marcin Maciulewicz Aligatores Fight Club

Travis Thomas 10th planet Decatur
Davis Asare New Wave JiuJitsu

Dory Aoun HUSTLE BRAZILIAN JIU-JITSU (IBJJFF)
Davis Asare New Wave JiuJitsu

Brad Schneider – 0 points.

Scheider might be the “couchable” member of the roster. He gave up 3 subs on the first day. Things don’t look great for day 2 either.

Kyle Boehm 10th Planet Freaks
Bradley Schneider Pedigo Submission Fighting

Bradley Schneider Pedigo Submission Fighting
Nathan Haddad Helio Soneca Association

Kemoy Anderson 10th Planet Austin
Bradley Schneider Pedigo Submission Fighting

Caleb Crump – 0 points.

Let’s be very honest. We picked Caleb for our #20 spot. But his grit and gusto is winning us over as fans. As much fans as we are becoming, fantasy managers want mismatches for points – even though Caleb has shown he’s a dog on the mats; he won’t be a viable fantasy start until he puts some points on the board.

Caleb Crump Easton Training Center – Centennial
Sebastian Attard Grappling Education

Ernesto Rivera American Top Team – Atlanta
Caleb Crump Easton Training Center – Centennial

Kyle Chambers 10th Planet Freaks
Caleb Crump Easton Training Center – Centennial

Fedor Nikolov – 0 points

Fedor keeps getting set up with tough draws. The Mountain…well, he’s a mountain and super tough. Then, Fedor faces one of the top competitors in Ardila. Finally, Fedor faces a much-improved Cam Hurd. Cam got the win in PGF Season 5 via DQ because Fedor jumped guard, which is not allowed in the PGF. You have to think both of them want another shot at each other, which likely means no points.

Abe “The Mountain” La Matagne /  Andre Porfirio Alpha Miami Grappling
Fedor Nikolov 10th Planet Saint-Petersburg

Paul Ardila American Top Team – Atlanta
Fedor Nikolov 10th Planet Saint-Petersburg

Fedor Nikolov 10th Planet Saint-Petersburg
Cameron Hurd Ascend/TDBJJ

#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.

Marcin Maciulewicz made a huge impression with a quick submission in block 1. Photo Courtesy of Walo Jay.

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.

Ryan Aitken sinks in the submission against Davis Asare. Photo Courtesy of Walo Jay.

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.

Elijah Carlton hits his patented triangle on Dory Aoun. Photo Courtesy of Walo Jay.

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.

The MOUNTAIN making an immediate impact for Carlos Machado’s Team Intrana. Photo Courtesy of Walo Jay.

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.

Cam Hurd has proven to be a serious PGF competitor and a fan favorite. Photo Courtesy of Walo Jay.

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.

#PGF7: Day 1 Fantasy Predictions

We’re on the precipice of the beginning of the Professional Grappling Federation’s Season #7. That means we’re about to be on our way to see who will be both the daily and the season PGF Fantasy Manager champions.

Every fan can play for free or play for prizes for a small fee. Everyone interested in playing should head to PGF.global and register.

Some of the highest ranked competitors heading into the Day 1 have some very tough competition. While these matches prove to be very exciting for us as jiu jitsu fans, they’re to even-matched to make these competitors a great choice for a fantasy roster (we want advantageous matchups for higher probabilities at points). After looking at all the matchups for the day and the histories and styles of the competitors, the Editorial Board at Eggheadwarrior.com has the following predictions:

Listed in order of fantasy value for the day:

Adam Bradley – 16 points (two Kills via RNC, 2 back takes)

A consensus top-5 competitor, Bradley’s got a chance to put some points on the board today. Bradley’s likely heard the criticism of him being a points/ref decision player and just an “escape artist” as his nickname suggests. Bradley got very little respect, going for only 900 in the PGF draft. All these things may just lead to a real statement from Bradley. Whether he gets two kills or a kill and two breaks, there’s a real chance he’s in the double digits today.

Adam Bradley B Team JiuJitsu
Cameron Hurd Ascend/TDBJJ

Adam Bradley B Team JiuJitsu
Kemoy Anderson 10th Planet Austin

Adam Bradley B Team JiuJitsu
Caleb Crump Easton Training Center – Centennial

Paul Ardila – 16 points (two kills, two back takes)

He has a likely KILL on Schneider; think he gets the BREAK against Porfirio; Marcin is tough. There’s a real chance he could get three subs. Paul is a sub machine. Ardila was consistently ranked 1 or 2 (at least top 3) by everyone going into the season. He doesn’t do as many competitions because he has a real career – so this week while he’s not in court, he might just sit in judgment of all his competition (yeah, I’m working on my lawyer pun/jokes here). He’s making the Egghead roster for sure.

Paul Ardila American Top Team – Atlanta
Bradley Schneider Pedigo Submission Fighting

Paul Ardila American Top Team – Atlanta
Marcin Maciulewicz Aligatores Fight Club

Paul Ardila American Top Team – Atlanta
Andre Porfirio Alpha Miami Grappling

Kemoy Anderson – 15 points (two kills, 1 takedown, 1 back take)

Kemoy has two matches against competitors picked to be in the bottom half of the roster. The former PGF Season 5 runner up has to know he needs to capitalize on these matchups. Crump was the first competitor to be intentionally walked in the draft and is weighing around 190 lbs. Cam Hurd was the most improved grappler from Season 5 to Season 6 of the PGF, but his submission game is likely still lagging Kemoy’s game. Hurd has to be the better wrestler as a former D1 collegiate wrestler, but Kemoy has a phenomenal ankle pick and a solid lateral drop. If Kemoy’s been doing his homework, he knows Cam is susceptible to a triangle and Kemoy’s got great triangles.

Caleb Crump Easton Training Center – Centennial
Kemoy Anderson 10th Planet Austin

Adam Bradley B Team JiuJitsu
Kemoy Anderson 10th Planet Austin

Kemoy Anderson 10th Planet Austin
Cameron Hurd Ascend/TDBJJ

Kyle Chambers – 9 points (three breaks)

Chambers is coming off a very commanding performance at the AIGA qualifier. His leg lock entries are looking sharp as ever. The Ernesto match is a leg lock battle of East versus West, but fellow 10th Planet Freak Kyle Boehm was able to sub Ernesto twice (both within one minute) at the PGF Season 7 Nashville Qualifier – you have to think Chambers will get some pointers on how to re-create that from his teammate. Chambers has shown he can submit Fedor, heel hooking him at the Combat Jiu Jitsu Worlds 2023. Haddad was impossible to submit in PGF Season 6, but he was big for that season. Haddad actually forewent the ADCC trials so he could cut down enough for Season 6. Now Haddad doesn’t have any size advantage, especially against a 6’3” (or more) Kyle Chambers. Haddad’s tough as can be, but there’s a real chance Chambers gets three submissions today.

Kyle Chambers 10th Planet Freaks
Ernesto Rivera American Top Team – Atlanta

Kyle Chambers 10th Planet Freaks
Fedor Nikolov 10th Planet Saint-Petersburg

Kyle Chambers 10th Planet Freaks
Nathan Haddad Helio Soneca Association

Elijah Carlton – 7 points (two breaks, one elbow genie point)

Elijah has more experience in the PGF than any other competitor. He knows putting points on the board, no matter how many will put him ahead of most of his competition. Look for him to try for quick breaks on Thomas and Attard. He’s caught Thomas in previous competition. For Attard, Carlton has a special beef. Carlton lost a 10th Planet Austin Thursday Night Jiu Jitsu match against Attard in EBI overtime despite “dominating him,” or words to that effect according to Carlton. Elijah offered a bet match against Attard, but couldn’t make it happen. Look for Elijah to make the most of his chance to get that one back against Attard. Ever time we discuss Dory, it’s worth mentioning he’s likely one of the toughest guys to submit this season. Elijah’s teammate Ryan Aitken couldn’t get a submission against Aoun even given three rounds in the Aiga qualifier last month. Elijah will be working towards a submission against Aoun, but he probably won’t sell out for it. Elijah knows it’s a long week.

Elijah Carlton 10th planet Atlanta
Sebastian Attard Grappling Education

Travis Thomas 10th planet Decatur
Elijah Carlton 10th planet Atlanta

Dory Aoun HUSTLE BRAZILIAN JIU-JITSU (IBJJFF)
Elijah Carlton 10th planet Atlanta

Sebastian Attard – 9 points (three breaks).

A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of small minds – Emerson. Schrödinger’s Cat is a quantum physics concept that two particles can be in two states until they are observed…well, I can say Elijah will break Attard and Attard will break Elijah until we find out. They both want to win the rematch badly, so they’ll both be going for the submission hard. And when you sell out for a submission, you’re also more likely to get submitted. Attard also has to be looking at Thomas, who has been susceptible to leg locks previously, as a chance to pick up points. Attard and Dory have faced each other before. Attard dominated the first half of the match but gassed out and allowed Dory and his insane cardio to dominate the second half, getting the wind. Attard has said he’s in much better shape now and will want to get that one back.

Elijah Carlton 10th planet Atlanta
Sebastian Attard Grappling Education

Dory Aoun HUSTLE BRAZILIAN JIU-JITSU (IBJJFF)
Sebastian Attard Grappling Education

Sebastian Attard Grappling Education
Travis Thomas 10th planet Decatur

Cam Hurd – 9 points (one kill, three takedowns)

Cam is the most improved PGF competitor. He came in as just a D1 wrestler, but now he’s added some more submissions to his game. He still has a very dangerous front headlock game to complement his wrestling. Cam’s likely going to get a couple of takedowns against Kemoy, but he will have his best chance at a takedown and a kill against Caleb Crump.

Adam Bradley B Team JiuJitsu
Cameron Hurd Ascend/TDBJJ

Cameron Hurd Ascend/TDBJJ
Caleb Crump Easton Training Center – Centennial

Kemoy Anderson 10th Planet Austin
Cameron Hurd Ascend/TDBJJ

Andre Porfirio – 3 points (one break).

Porfirio has submitted Scheider before and likely will again. If Porfirio sits guard and works his de la Riva game, his chances at the additional fantasy points are limited. Still, he has killer ankle locks and should get at least one break today.

Andre Porfirio Alpha Miami Grappling
Marcin Maciulewicz Aligatores Fight Club

Bradley Schneider Pedigo Submission Fighting
Andre Porfirio Alpha Miami Grappling

Paul Ardila American Top Team – Atlanta
Andre Porfirio Alpha Miami Grappling

Dory Aoun – 3 points (1 takedown and one position score mount/back)

Dory’s job on Team 1st Phorm is to be a stopper, to not be submitted, denying the other teams points. Dory has a grinding, positionally-dominant top game. Still, Elijah and Sebastian are likely to sit guard against Dory. Dory will be working his passing as they try to elevate him into a leglock entry. Travis will try to work his foot sweeps he uses in jiu jitsu and MMA as Dory works his takedowns. Aoun has a win over Attard after gassing him out during a previous match, but Attard says he’s in much better shape this go round.

Dory Aoun HUSTLE BRAZILIAN JIU-JITSU (IBJJFF)
Travis Thomas 10th planet Decatur

Dory Aoun HUSTLE BRAZILIAN JIU-JITSU (IBJJFF)
Sebastian Attard Grappling Education

Dory Aoun HUSTLE BRAZILIAN JIU-JITSU (IBJJFF)
Elijah Carlton 10th planet Atlanta

Ryan Aitken – UNKNOWN.

Aitken was either one or two on the pre-season rankings for everyone. But he’s going against the top competitor from Team Constellation, arguably the top competitor from Team Intrana, and a competitor ranked in the top 3 or 4 in Kyle Boehm from Team 1st Phorm. We’re going to know a lot more about Aitken’s trajectory in the PGF after today. He’s probably not making Egghead’s roster today, but getting these tough matches out of the way, means he’s more likely to have more favorable matchups in the next three days.

Kyle Boehm 10th Planet Freaks
Ryan Aitken 10th planet Atlanta

Ryan Aitken 10th planet Atlanta
Davis Asare New Wave JiuJitsu

Chris Wojcik B Team JiuJitsu
Ryan Aitken 10th planet Atlanta

Kyle Boehm – Unknown.

Boehm was Egghead’s #3 ranked competitor (#6 in fantasy because he sits guard most of the time). Boehm really is facing the best player on each of the other teams (tip of the cap to Elijah from Team Intrana). Boehm has a serious size advantage on Wojcik and Asare, so we might see him stand and try to big brother them. Just like Aitken, we’ll know a lot more about his trajectory in the PGF after today.

Kyle Boehm 10th Planet Freaks
Ryan Aitken 10th planet Atlanta

Kyle Boehm 10th Planet Freaks
Chris Wojcik B Team JiuJitsu

Kyle Boehm 10th Planet Freaks
Davis Asare New Wave JiuJitsu

Travis Thomas – Unfavorable (0 points)

Travis had a phenomenal showing in PGF Season 5, with subs in 9/12 matches and every sub was different. Thomas is still growing in the sport, only having been training for less than four years. But he’s facing some bad matchups for him today. Dory is likely in the top five hardest to submit competitors this season. The anticipated Elijah Carlton match didn’t happen in Season 5, but subsequently they had a match and Elijah caught Thomas in a heel hook well within PGF match regulation time. Sebastian Attard as a leglocker from New Wave lands right in Travis’ weak area. The question in that match will be whether Attard can get his leg entries. If Travis can avoid the leglock shootout, he’ll have a chance work towards a kill, but Attard has shown real resilience against bigger guys as shown in his previous match against Dory Aoun.

Dory Aoun HUSTLE BRAZILIAN JIU-JITSU (IBJJFF)
Travis Thomas 10th planet Decatur

Travis Thomas 10th planet Decatur
Elijah Carlton 10th planet Atlanta

Sebastian Attard Grappling Education
Travis Thomas 10th planet Decatur

Chris Wojcik – Unfavorable (0 points)

Wojcik represents the B Team and is coming off a 4th place finish at ADCC this year. He’s a dangerous leglocker, with a complete game, but he’s facing some monsters today. Boehm and Aitken are both killers and have at least 20lbs on Wojcik. Asare is around Wojcik’s size, but he’s the PGF Season 6 leading league scorer. Seeing the Asare v Wojcik match is a fun New Wave versus B Team match that could go either way for sure. Wojcik is a super smart, analytical competitor, but if he objectively looked at his probabilities for today’s matches, he’d probably look for competitors with other matchups.

Davis Asare New Wave JiuJitsu
Chris Wojcik B Team JiuJitsu

Kyle Boehm 10th Planet Freaks
Chris Wojcik B Team JiuJitsu

Chris Wojcik B Team JiuJitsu
Ryan Aitken 10th planet Atlanta

Davis Asare – Unfavorable (0 points)

In the PGF, a draw is a loss for both sides. Asare trains at New Wave with ADCC Champions who are bigger than him and other monsters who are way bigger than him. But as a fantasy manager, you can’t look at these matchups as favorable. As with some other competitors, this day will give us an idea of the pecking order for PGF Season 7, but it should also clear out some of the toughest matchups for Asare so we can target him for our rosters in subsequent days.

Davis Asare New Wave JiuJitsu
Chris Wojcik B Team JiuJitsu

Ryan Aitken 10th planet Atlanta
Davis Asare New Wave JiuJitsu

Kyle Boehm 10th Planet Freaks
Davis Asare New Wave JiuJitsu

Marcin Maciulewicz – 0 points

As one of the bigger competitors, Marcin likely had to cut a good amount of weight. Besides the weight cut and traveling from Europe, he may still be recovering during day 1. Ardila is not a likely win. The match against Porfirio is a concern because Marcin likes to play the legs as well and that’s Porfirio’s specialty. To have a chance of submitting Porfirio, Marcin needs to stay away from the leg exchanges. Schneider might be one of Marcin’s best shots at a submission this season, but he’s got a funky style. As a late addition, it’s unlikely Marcin knows the funky submissions/traps Schneider lays out. At the same time, Marcin won all five of his matches at the ADCC European trials in one day – so he’s a beast. There’s a very real chance this estimation is underscoring Marcin.

Andre Porfirio Alpha Miami Grappling
Marcin Maciulewicz Aligatores Fight Club

Paul Ardila American Top Team – Atlanta
Marcin Maciulewicz Aligatores Fight Club

Marcin Maciulewicz Aligatores Fight Club
Bradley Schneider Pedigo Submission Fighting

Nathan Haddad – 0 points.

Haddad served as a stopper last season, giving up no points and getting a kill to boot. This season he faces some bigger competition. Haddad fell via points to Ernesto at the USA Grappling World Team Trials 2023. Chambers is a super-deadly leglocker and might just catch Haddad. Nikolov has only one loss in the regular season of PGF 5 and it was due to disqualification for jumping guard. That match might be a situation of an unstoppable force going against an immovable object – but Haddad will have to watch out for Fedor’s dead orchard. Haddad will still be relegated to the stopper role until he hits a couple of submissions.

Nathan Haddad Helio Soneca Association
Fedor Nikolov 10th Planet Saint-Petersburg

Ernesto Rivera American Top Team – Atlanta
Nathan Haddad Helio Soneca Association

Kyle Chambers 10th Planet Freaks
Nathan Haddad Helio Soneca Association

Brad Schneider – 0 points.

Scheider is funky with a scary crucifix and a reverse omoplata amongst other diverse submissions. But facing Ardila, Schneider is likely to get subbed. Porfirio landed one of his patented ankle locks against Schneider in one of his Midwest Finishers runs and likely will again. Even though Schneider is a tall drink of water, he’s facing a monster in the Polish Punisher Marcin. As a late addition, Schneider will be hoping to get a funky, sneaky sub against Marcin – but that’s not a high probability.

Paul Ardila American Top Team – Atlanta
Bradley Schneider Pedigo Submission Fighting

Bradley Schneider Pedigo Submission Fighting
Andre Porfirio Alpha Miami Grappling

Marcin Maciulewicz Aligatores Fight Club
Bradley Schneider Pedigo Submission Fighting

Ernesto Rivera – 0 points

Rivera will let us know how to truly evaluate him after today. The teammate of Paul Ardila has polished leg locking mechanics according to black belts who know. He might have a decent lineup for himself today. While Chambers has the better pedigree, Ernesto actually beat Chambers (via points) at the ADCC Arizona Open in 2023 – but can he open up and get a submission? Likewise, Ernesto has a win over Haddad at the USA Grappling Worlds Qualifier, but it was a win via points. Winning via points means he should be able to get in dominant positions which could set him up for submissions. We’ll just have to see what happens.

Kyle Chambers 10th Planet Freaks
Ernesto Rivera American Top Team – Atlanta

Ernesto Rivera American Top Team – Atlanta
Nathan Haddad Helio Soneca Association

Fedor Nikolov 10th Planet Saint-Petersburg
Ernesto Rivera American Top Team – Atlanta

Caleb Crump – 0 points

Every opponent Crump faces today likely has their match circled as a good shot at a submission. The MMA fighter, Crump is super tough, but has shown to be submittable in other competitions. In this season, all points will likely be hard to get, so Crump has to expect every opponent to turn it up to 11 when facing him.

Caleb Crump Easton Training Center – Centennial
Kemoy Anderson 10th Planet Austin

Cameron Hurd Ascend/TDBJJ
Caleb Crump Easton Training Center – Centennial

Adam Bradley B Team JiuJitsu
Caleb Crump Easton Training Center – Centennial

Fedor Nikolov – 0 points

Fedor is making his black belt competition debut. He was a fan favorite in PGF Season 5. He’s facing some tough competition today. He likely really wants to get a match back against Kyle Chambers after Kyle heel hooked him at Combat Jiu Jitsu Worlds 2023, but that’s a tall feat. Ernesto Rivera will be another East versus West leg lock battle most likely. Haddad might be a shot at hitting his Dead Orchard arm lock if Haddad hasn’t done his homework, but Haddad showed he was impossible to submit last season. At this point, managers likely shouldn’t put Fedor on their rosters.

Nathan Haddad Helio Soneca Association
Fedor Nikolov 10th Planet Saint-Petersburg

Kyle Chambers 10th Planet Freaks
Fedor Nikolov 10th Planet Saint-Petersburg Fedor Nikolov 10th Planet Saint-Petersburg
Ernesto Rivera American Top Team – Atlanta

Your PGF Season 7 Teams!!!

Here are your teams:

TEAM 1ST PHORM

Coach: Roger Gracie                   

1. Paul Ardila   

2. Adam Bradley

3. Kyle Chambers

4. Kyle Boehm 

5. Dory Aoun

Reserve: Devyson Souza            

Reserve: Sam Schwartz

TEAM CONSTELLATION

Coach: Dean Lister                      

1. Kemoy Anderson

2. Sebastian Attard

3. Marcin Maciulewicz

4. Fedor Nikolov

5. Chris Wojcik

Reserve: Drew Dyer

Reserve: ⁠Jack Bidwell

TEAM NEW HOPE REGENERATION

Coach: Pedro Sauer                     

1. Travis Thomas

2. Brad Schneider

3. Ernesto Rivera

4. Cam Hurd

5. Ryan Aitken

Reserve: ⁠Cristos Papadelos

Reserve: Jacob Howarth

TEAM: INTRANA

Coach: Carlos Machado                            

1. Elijah Carlton

2. Davis Asare

3. Nathan Haddad

4. Andre Porfirio

5. Caleb Crump              

Reserve: Abraham La Montagne

Reserve: Kris Olivo

Quickly, we can see some athletes by virtue of their team selection do not have to face competitors who they’ve faced in other competitions. For example, from Team 1st Phorm, Adam Bradley and Kyle Boehm have faced each other twice in the last year – but now they’re teammates. So, any disadvantage Bradley or Boehm would have faced going against someone who has experience against them is wiped away.

Similarly, we see Team Intrana’s Elijah Carlton teamed up with Davis Asare and Andre Porfirio. Elijah has split matches against Asare and lost to Porfirio. Now as teammates, these prior opponents do not have to worry about each other.

Team Constellation features Kemoy Anderson who was the runner-up for PGF Season 5 and Fedor Nikolov who also made it to the playoffs that season. They both don’t have to face each other this time around during the regular season and they can give advice to their teammates on navigating the unique experience that is the PGF.

For Team New Hope Regeneration, Ryan Aitken and Travis Thomas had previously met in the ADCC Trials, with Aitken scoring a submission. Now they will work to submit everyone else. Really everyone on Team New Hope Regeneration has history with at least one, if not two, of their teammates. Now their prior opponents can provide each other insight on possible weaknesses and strengths they saw from across the mat to help their teammates tighten up their games for the gauntlet that is the PGF.

Keep checking back as we will provide fantasy analysis for Day 1’s matches later today.

The Once and Future King of the PGF!

Elijah Carlton is the Royce Gracie of the Professional Grappling Federation. So many times critics and other competitors have counted him out, and Elijah has shut them down with stunning victories. Now Elijah Carlton is entering the seventh season of the PGF. He’s facing a roster of world-class grapplers at a higher weight class than season 6. Once again, some detractors are counting him out of the playoffs; once again, Elijah will prove them wrong.

In the inaugural season of the PGF, Elijah faced three competitors every Friday night over a span of weeks. Elijah went a perfect 24-0, with a 74% Kill (chokes) rate. He highlighted a complete game of takedowns, sweeps, back takes and submissions. PGF Season 1 was at the 195lb weight class and Elijah dominated the competition. He earned the title of King of the PGF, winning the regular and post season.

Coming into season 2, Elijah faced a new set of opponents at 225lbs. In the first PGF regular season that ran over just one week, Elijah went 14-1. Still showing devastating submissions, he spread them evenly between breaks (joint locks) and kills. In that season, he faced world-class wrestlers and joint lock specialists alike, but he only lost to one opponent. Elijah showed great endurance in the playoffs, winning a match that lasted more than 40 minutes.

After season 2, the PGF grew in reputation and the level of the competition increased. Elijah went down to 170lb for Season 3. For this season, the teams of the PGF was highlighted. With a 10-0-2 record, Elijah helped his team go onto victory, with every member of his team making the playoffs. Elijah featured an 83% submission rate for that season. An injury forced Elijah to bow out of the playoffs.

After a season 4 for the smaller grapplers (155lb), PGF Season 5 featured a 175lb division. Critics once again counted out Elijah because the playoffs would feature an overtime where each competitor had opportunities to submit the other starting from the back position. Critics said Elijah couldn’t win in that overtime format. Well, the trend continued, Elijah shut them all up. Elijah entered the playoffs at the top position after hitting a 75% submission rate during the regular season. In the playoffs, Elijah scored multiple submissions, but most importantly – he got a rear-naked choke in overtime to once again be the champ of the PGF.

PGF Season 6 moved the league to the fight capital of the world in Las Vegas. Season 6 had a host of world-champion grapplers competing at 185lb. Many critics thought now that the PGF was no longer somewhat of a regional show that Elijah couldn’t handle the national-level competition of world champions. Some commentators warned “Never bet against Elijah Carlton in the PGF,” but many still did. Well, those critics lost their bets. In a season of killers, Elijah Carlton was the second-highest scorer of the regular season. He entered the playoffs and got a quick submission against Renato Canuto, a world champion.

Elijah Carlton submits Renato Canuto in the PGF Season 6 playoffs. Photo Courtesy of Walo Jay.

Now, we are on the verge of PGF Season 7 beginning and critics are making the same mistakes. Most critics don’t know Elijah has competed in the PGF format at both 195 and 225 lbs. Most critics don’t know Elijah has a 81% submission rate in the PGF, with more Elbow Genie bonus points (<1 minute subs) than the competitor after whom the bonus point was named. By this point, Elijah has to like the critics discounting him. It probably gives him fuel to get on the mats and prove to everyone “Never bet against Elijah Carlton in the PGF.” He has more experience than anyone in this format. It’s his home. And he’s going to get on the mats and face his opponents like they are trying to take his home away from him. Elijah Carlton’s making the playoffs again and there’s a real possibility he wins it all. Because, say it with me: you “Never bet against Elijah Carlton in the PGF.”

Elijah giving the “jabroni salute” to his critics. Photo Courtesy of Walo Jay.

#PGF7: THE DRAFT

IT’S GO TIME!!!!!! LET’S GET READY TO DRAFT!!!! The Professional Grappling Federation starts this Sunday, November 3rd with the AUCTION DRAFT!!! It’s one of the most entertaining parts of the PGF. The Draft is where championships teams are made. Anyone who has played fantasy sports knows the draft is one of the most fun parts of the experience; and the Draft is definitely one of the best parts of the PGF!

The four legendary coaches will all have 10,000 PGF points to use in drafting their five-member teams. Then, throughout the four days of the PGF season, each team member will have three matches a day for a total of 12 matches for each competitor for the season. Each time a competitor scores a submission, the points they earn for their submission is added to the team’s total. Competitors and their teams earn 3 points for a BREAK (joint lock), 6 points for a KILL (strangle); and 1 bonus point if the sub is in less than one minute. Having a strong team matters even more because each night will have three Blocks of matches. A Block represents 10 matches, with the four teams breaking into two face-offs (e.g. 5 matches where Team A faces Team B and 5 matches where Team C faces Team D). Whichever team earns the most points in a block will get an additional team point added to each of their player’s totals.

The Draft order was randomized this season, adding a new twist. In previous seasons, the draft would start with the competitor at the top of the pre-season rankings and work its way down. In PGF Season 6, that led to 75% of the teams spending more than half of their budget on their first pick. This season, the Coaches will have to very strategic with their bidding. We might even see an “intentional walk” where all four coaches choose not to bid on a player, sending them to the back of the line/queue.

Fans interested in what the Draft might look like (strategy and bidding-wise) can check out two drafts done by folks who know a little about the PGF. The PGF Insiders had a mock draft using a random draw of competitors HERE. Then, T J De Santis and the Commissioner, Brandon Mccaghren, hosted another Mock Draft with the actual draft order HERE, and the last part HERE.

While we have less than 24 hours before the draft, let’s discuss some things to look for and strategies we might see…

First, the most important thing to do before entering an auction draft is RESEARCH! Fantasy managers know you have to really do the work to put yourself in a position to really put a value on a player. The Editorial Board at Eggheadwarrior.com researches every competitor, looking at their matches on FloGrappling, their Smoothcoomp profiles, their matches on Enigma JiuJitsu TV, their matches on UFC Fight Pass, their matches on YouTube, their Instagram profiles, their grade school report cards (e.g. Elijah Carlton’s D+ in PE in fourth grade for led us to drop him a bit in our rankings). The PGF Season 7 roster is STACKED with very active competitors and many of them have faced each other previously. While no one piece of information is dispositive, every bit helps build the mosaic of your evaluation of a competitor. For the fans at home building their own draft board, the EggheadWarrior.com Editorial Board put together some power rankings that can get you started, check them out HERE.

BUDGET/SET A CEILING: Doing all that research should help a coach set a ceiling price on each competitor. As referenced earlier, three teams spent more than 50% of their budget on their first picks, leaving the fourth team in the drivers seat for the rest of the rounds. That fourth team just happened to with the PGF Season 6 title. So, having the discipline to let a player go that has gone too high is important.

MAKE THEM OVERSPEND: As a corollary of not overspending yourself, any time you can prey on your opponent’s zeal to get someone – it’s goodness. Sometimes coaches/fantasy managers make it obvious they really, really want someone – whether it’s because their a fan or maybe that competitor is in their jiu jitsu lineage/association. Any time a coach can find that bias towards a competitor in their opponents, they should seize on the opportunity to bid the opponent up. Every bit of money you can make your opponent spend on a player is less they can wield against you in the bidding for a player you may want.

KEEP ON TOP OF THE NUMBERS: Let’s see which coach either has a helper with a laptop or is taking notes, tracking which coach has spent what money in the draft. With this randomized auction order, knowing how much money you have and how much everyone else has (and how many roster spots everyone still has to fill) is crucial. If you know a competitor is going to try to take your desired player, but they have to fill two spots, you may be able to bid them up on one roster spot, ensuring they don’t have enough money to challenge you for the player you want.

HAVE YOUR TARGETS, BUT DON’T PASS UP A BARGAIN: Every coach will do their own rankings and have their favorites. For good reason, they should try to get the competitors they think will produce the most points. At the same time, when a bargain comes along, a coach should pounce. For example, in the PGF Insiders mock draft, Egghead was able to secure Marcin Maciulewicz for $700. Keeping in mind each roster spot is essentially budgeted for $2,000, that’s a steal. Even if coaches were unsure of how many submissions he would get in the season, he’s a beast that won’t get subbed himself. Every team needs a stopper like Nathan Haddad in PGF World Season 6 – Nathan only got one submission in the season (a very nice kill), but he NEVER GAVE UP POINTS! For the final person on a roster to not give up points is key to winning those blocks and to not allowing your competitors to add to their team totals. Haddad’s performance definitely helped Coach Jean Jacques Machado and Team XMartial win the title last season. With the random order, a Coach might be smart to pick up a bargain early, saving more money for their targets.

DON’T BE AFRAID TO MAKE A SPLASH: In poker, it’s customary to bet at least three times the big blind when you have a decent hand. It’s well established that people value things they have (i.e. something they posses and now could possibly lose) more than if they didn’t have it and were looking at possibly acquiring it. The pain of losing something is more powerful than of not getting something. So, if a coach wants a player, it can be a good strategy to put out a serious (but not crazy bid). For example, one mock draft had many managers placing $100 bids to start…this low bid provides no barrier of entry to other competitors. The other coaches have no problem raising it to $200. And the more competitors that enter the fray, the more competitors that have an emotional stake in winning that player -because when the coach had that top bid for even a second they “had” that player and when they are outbid, they feel a loss. Sometimes, you just need to make a little splash (like the $2000 bid Egghead made for Kyle Boehm) that keeps the tire kickers from even considering taking a run at the competitor you want.

Those are at least some strategies and things to possibly observe during the PGF World Season 7 draft tomorrow. The Draft and every day of the PGF World Season 7 Regular Season will be available LIVE and FREE on YouTube HERE. Every sports draft, whether it be real sports or fantasy sports, is a blast. The PGF World 7 Draft will be insanely fun as well. Because, the PGF is everything you love about sports, plus jiu jitsu!

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.

FANTASY RANKINGS!!!

Okay, so we just put out POWER RANKINGS. And yes, here’s another set of rankings. But the Fantasy rankings are nuanced. Hypothetically every competitor should try to max out the possible fantasy points – they should take down their opponents (+1), pass their guard into mount (+1), then take their back (+1) and sink in a rear-naked choke for a Kill (+6).

But that’s not always the smartest move for the competitor. As a competitor facing three INTENSE matches against serious opponents each night, the best strategy is often to pick your spots. Some opponents are just dang hard to positionally dominate and kill, so pulling guard and hitting a quick break within one minute (getting the 3 for the Break and the 1 for the Elbow Genie bonus point) makes more sense than expending all the energy to attempt to do all the things that would get fantasy points.

Fantasy managers will have to look at each competitor’s main game, their relative skill level to their opponents, their opponents style and durability, and still manage to assemble a great team under their budget for the day. To put it mildly, winning the PGF Fantasy league is going to be tough this year. While some stats nerd will build their own spreadsheets, calculating standard deviations, etc., the rest of the PGF fans can just have fun putting together a team and competing with their friends. To be honest, I just joined a fantasy football league this year with some colleagues after having taken a few years off. I was a fantasy nut, building spreadsheets, watching all the news so I could make the best pickups off the waiver wire, etc. But after 20+ years, I found jiu jitsu was really my passion and I took a hiatus from fantasy football. Now I’m back as a fantasy football manager, but mostly just to have fun and talk some smack. I loved the draft, but mostly let the app pick my roster now. I’m near the bottom of the league, but still having fun. The point I’m trying to make is whether you want to really nerd out on PGF Fantasy or just pick your favorite players and talk smack with friends, it’s all good. Just join up and have fun. we’ll do our best along with my fantasy/stats brother Jason Anik to give you the best info to help you beat your buddies and have a chance to win some great PGF gear.

Also, I have it on good authority that the first iteration/day of the PGF, all competitors will be the same price. In the later days, the prices will vary greatly based on some algorithms and maybe some Egghead input-which will make things substantially harder. So, for the first day, you can load up on the top roster guys on the first day…and you should do so!

So without any more preamble, let’s look at the Pre-Draft PGF Fantasy Rankings:

1. Paul Ardila: 7-0-5 (W-L-D), 3 Breaks, 4 Kills, 2 Elbow Genie Point, 8 Takedowns, 4 Mounts, 5 Back points, 0 Stalls. 52 fantasy points for the season. Get him while you can. Ardila will become expensive quickly. He has the wrestling to earn bonus fantasy points and the BJJ chops to get the subs for points. Everyone will be gunning for him, so consider that as well. It might be hard for him to score when everyone sees him as the super bowl. Still, he has the wrestling to force engagement and the skills to finish.

2. Ryan Aitken: 8-0-4 (W-L-D), 5 Breaks, 3 Kills, 2 Elbow Genie Point, 2 Takedowns, 3 Mounts, 4 Back points, 0 Stalls. 44 fantasy points for the season. Ryan is coming to send a message. His style is made for the PGF and he’s big even for this weight class. He’s likely the consensus frontrunner. While Aitken and Ardila are tied for actual estimated PGF scores, Ardila’s experience as a collegiate wrestler gives him the upper hand in the newly added PGF fantasy stats. Don’t get me wrong, if you can afford either Aitken or Ardila after the first day, add them to your roster every chance you get.

3. Davis Asare: 5-0-7 (W-L-D), 2 Breaks, 3 Kills, 1 Elbow Genie Point, 8 Takedowns, 3 Mounts, 8 Back points, 0 Stalls. 44 fantasy points for the season. Asare will impress! He can attack any part of the body and can play any part of the game of jiu jitsu. Seriously, just look at his PGF Season 6 run. Then look at all his other matches. He has all the skills to hit all the PGF Season 7 Fantasy metrics! Your PGF Season 6 regular season points leader might just give us a repeat performance, at least fantasy-wise.

4. Travis Thomas: 5-1-6 (W-L-D), 2 Breaks, 3 Kills, 2 Elbow Genie Point, 6 Takedowns, 4 Mounts, 4 Back points, 0 Stalls. 40 fantasy points for the season. Thomas’ style and athleticism make him very well-suited for the fantasy game. He’s also still fairly new to jiu jitsu and is constantly improving – so he may be better than we think even now. Fitting that we have the PGF Season 6 regular season points leader followed by the PGF Season 5 points leader (if you don’t count the Yankees team points, Elijah). Thomas will be a great play because there’s still a lot of folks who don’t know him.

5. Chris Wojcik: 6-2-4 (W-L-D), 4 Breaks, 2 Kills, 2 Elbow Genie Point, 4 Takedowns, 2 Mounts, 5 Back points, 0 Stalls. 37 fantasy points for the season. He likes to pull guard, but can also wrestle and pass. He’s going to score a good amount of points this season. After finishing 4th at this August’s ADCC championship (at -88kg), Wojcik has some good momentum coming into the PGF. He can really make an impression, and he will.

6. Kyle Boehm: 6-0-6 (W-L-D), 4 Breaks, 2 Kills, 2 Elbow Genie Point, 2 Takedowns, 4 Mounts, 4 Back points, 0 Stalls. 36 fantasy points for the season. Boehm has likely found his perfect format. He might outperform these predictions. Beohm has faced the top jiu jitsu competitors in the world – in any weight class. Some say he’s one-dimensional and folks can run from his game, but the PGF stalling rules should help Boehm close with his opponents and destroy them. Boehm is actually big for this weight class, probably cutting a good amount. Expect him to come in large, strong, and hungry! (weight cut pun intended)

7. Marcin Maciulewicz: 3-1-8 (W-L-D), 1 Breaks, 2 Kills, 0 Elbow Genie Point, 8 Takedowns, 6 Mounts, 6 Back points, 0 Stalls. 35 fantasy points for the season. He’s your ADCC Europe Trials Winner at -99kg (218lbs). Marcin has the big boy wrestling and positional dominance to rack up fantasy points and the size to get some subs this season. Plus, no one really knows him, so he’ll sneak up on them (as much as a titan can). Yes, he went from near the bottom in the power rankings to near the top of fantasy – that’s what a strong top-game and also just sheer size will likely do.

8. Elijah Carlton: 5-3-4 (W-L-D), 4 Breaks, 1 Kills, 3 Elbow Genie Point, 3 Takedowns, 3 Mounts, 3 Back points, 0 Stalls. 30 fantasy points for the season. NO ONE has more PGF experience than Elijah Carlton. I’m giving him the same stats as last season, essentially. He subbed everyone in PGF Season 2 (225lb) except one person, so he can handle big guys. He will find a way to get points. Never bet against Elijah Carlton in the PGF!

9. Cam Hurd: 2-3-7 (W-L-D), 1 Breaks, 1 Kills, 0 Elbow Genie Point, 10 Takedowns, 4 Mounts, 4 Back points, 0 Stalls. 45 fantasy points for the season. The former Virginia Tech wrestler and two-time PGF veteran is poised to make some noise in the PGF this season. Cam has been training like crazy and getting better every day, but it’s a big step up in competition. As the best wrestler in PGF 7, he’s going to bank points for fantasy managers. Look at the matchups – opponents who immediately sit guard will likely reduce his chances of high fantasy scoring matches. But Cam’s hungry, he could outperform my projections.

10. Kemoy Anderson: 4-0-7 (W-L-D), 2 Breaks, 2 Kill, 0 Elbow Genie Point, 8 Takedowns, 3 Mounts, 1 Back points, 3 Stalls. 27 fantasy points for the season. Kemoy killed it during Season 5. Kemoy’s a veteran and knows how to pick his spots. His awesome ankle pick will get him takedowns. He finds a way to survive and get to advantageous positions. But if you want the subs, put him on the roster when he has at least two opponents in the bottom 10. Kemoy knows he has to capitalize on chances against the lower-ranked guys.

11. Nathan Haddad: 2-2-8 (W-L-D), 0 Breaks, 2 Kills, 0 Elbow Genie Point, 6 Takedowns, 2 Mounts, 6 Back points, 0 Stalls. 26 fantasy points for the season. One of the fan favorites for never giving up a point even though he faced all the top competitors in PGF Season 6. Haddad got into great positions against several of those top opponents in PGF World 6, but he only finished one. So his style is what gets him this ranking – and if he’s improved his finishing, he could get even more points.

12. Adam Bradley: 4-1-7 (W-L-D), 2 Breaks, 2 Kills, 0 Elbow Genie Point, 2 Takedowns, 2 Mounts, 4 Back points, 1 Stalls. 25 fantasy points for the season. Bradley could outperform this estimation, but he could also underperform everyone’s expectations. He has a fairly big name in jiu jitsu and every competitor will turn it up against him. Yeah, this ranking might be an upset special, but every season the PGF has a big name that underperforms. Bradley might be that guy for this season.

13. Dory Aoun: 1-1-10 (W-L-D), 0 Breaks, 1 Kills, 0 Elbow Genie Point, 8 Takedowns, 3 Mounts, 6 Back points, 2 Stalls. 21 fantasy points for the season. Dory likely won’t make the PGF playoffs, but his positional dominant game will get fantasy managers a lot of points with the new fantasy scoring options. Keep an eye on Dory as the season progresses. If the injury bug starts to hit teams, Dory could pounce on the bench players and greatly change his numbers. Dory will be the competitor that gets better as the season progresses, his grit and conditioning shining. I’m honestly surprised he is this low in my rankings. IMDAOUN fans should take advantage of my likely improper low ranking.

14. Sebastian Attard: 4-0-8 (W-L-D), 4 Breaks, 0 Kills, 3 Elbow Genie Point, 0 Takedowns, 0 Mounts, 5 Back points, 0 Stalls. 20 points for the season. People will overlook Attard and he’s will get some wins people won’t expect. He plays a guard game so that limits his fantasy value. He’s will be a fan favorite but a situational starter based on lineup and cost.

15. Kyle Chambers: 5-2-5 (W-L-D), 5 Breaks, 0 Kills, 2 Elbow Genie Point, 0 Takedowns, 0 Mounts, 2 Back points, 0 Stalls. 19 fantasy points for the season. Chambers is a phenomenal talent and will likely make the playoffs, but his style isn’t designed for the new fantasy scoring. Chambers immediately sits guards and finds ways to break folks’ legs.

16. Caleb Crump: 1-4-7 (W-L-D), 0 Breaks, 1 Kills, 0 Elbow Genie Point, 3 Takedowns, 3 Mounts, 2 Back points, 0 Stalls. 14 fantasy points for the season. Caleb Crump is tough and will force good matches, but he’s more likely to be on the short end of the stick against this stacked roster. Still, his style of grappling will lead to fantasy points because he needs those takedowns and positional dominance to implement his game. He has every incentive to rack up fantasy points, regardless of whether he gets a submission or not. This incentive is why he’s higher in this ranking than the power rankings.

17. Andre Porfirio: 4-1-7 (W-L-D), 4 Breaks, 0 Kills, 1 Elbow Genie Point, 0 Takedowns, 0 Mounts, 0 Back points, 0 Stalls. 13 points for the season. Porfirio is going to catch some people this season, but his style doesn’t bode well for fantasy managers. Porfirio will be a situational start on a fantasy team – he’s likely to get a break or two with the Elbow Genie bonus points for a submission in under a minute, but fantasy managers will have to pick their spots when looking to start Porfirio. Admittedly, this ranking will likely get some hate, but look at all of Porfirio’s matches – he’s a guard player that goes for leg locks. He’s awesome at them, but he won’t get those x-factor fantasy points. His fantasy points will be based on the breaks he can get.

18. Bradley Schneider: 2-4-6 (W-L-D), 1 Breaks, 1 Kills, 0 Elbow Genie Point, 1 Takedowns, 1 Mounts, 2 Back points, 0 Stalls. 13 fantasy points for the season. He’s a late addition and I haven’t watched as many of his matches as I have of other competitors. We’ll just have to update our estimations as he shows what he can do in the PGF. But he’s known for funky submission and funky moves to get to positional dominance – this funkiness might make him a great fantasy play.

19. Ernesto Rivera: 2-4-6 (W-L-D), 2 Breaks, 0 Kills, 1 Elbow Genie Point, 2 Takedowns, 1 Mounts, 2 Back points, 0 Stalls. 12 fantasy points for the season. This estimation is likely very low, but traditionally alternates have not scored a lot in the PGF. Ernesto likes to sit guard and go for legs. A lot of competitors do the same thing on this roster. That style won’t get the extra fantasy points, and he’ll have to beat some amazing competitors at their own game.

20. Fedor Nikolov: 2-2-8 (W-L-D), 2 Breaks, 0 Kills, 0 Elbow Genie Point, 4 Takedowns, 1 Mounts, 2 Back points, 4 Stalls. 9 fantasy points for the season. Based on his game and his history against the current competitors, Fedor’s fantasy value is currently low. But it could rise dramatically if he retools his game in light of his prior PGF experience. I’m having a Russian Nightmare even writing these words. I hope I don’t get hurt. But seriously, Fedor recently got his black belt and trains under the incomparable Eddie Bravo – it’s likely he’s improved immensely from PGF Season 5 and will greatly outperform this ranking.

Well, there you have it. Based on all our research into these competitors, the Editorial Board took a SWAG at the estimated stats they’ll have this season. In an organization in which the Editorial Board once belonged, a SWAG is a scientific wild ass guess. Egghead will build his team based on this information and he’s allowed us to share it with everyone. Now the question remains: Can you build a better team than Egghead? Feel free to talk smack on him if you beat him, but don’t be surprised if he talks smack right back when he uses his 20lb brain to defeat you.

Don’t miss PGF World Season 7. The Draft goes live this Sunday, 3 November on the PGF World YouTube channel (link below). Then watch as these competitors have their PGF World stories unfold throughout the week as they have three matches a night and vie for a chance at the PGF World Season 7 title and the highly-desired Regular Season Team $100,000 prize!

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.

The REAL Power Rankings

So many hours of watching tape. So many hours of tracking down matches between PGF Season 7 competitors. Almost too late, but the Editorial Staff at EggheadWarrior.com requires thorough research before making their final pre-season rankings. Whether the matches were on FloGrappling, UFC Fight Pass, Enigma Invitational, or some random YouTube channel…we did the work to give you the best analysis into the stacked PGF World Season roster yet. The best week of jiu jitsu starts in a few days, so let’s check out the rankings.

  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 shown at the EBI Absolute Championship that he has not problem with bigger guys. The 10th Planet Atlanta team knows the PGF very well and Coach Applegate will be sure to have Aitken ready for this season. But a few things moved him into the top spot. First, at Combat Jiu Jitsu Worlds 2023 (December), Aitken faced nearly a quarter of this roster and came home the champion. Second, at the AIGA qualifier, Aitken showed some great wrestling in his second round against a very tough Dory Aoun. Knowing Aitken can use his wrestling when necessary added another piece of the puzzle to correctly placing him at first spot.
  2. Paul Ardila – Four-time ADCC qualifier winner, Paul Ardila is a beast. He’s a national collegiate champion wrestler at 197lb. But he’s not just an athlete, he’s a Notre Dame Law graduate. Ardila brings the athleticism of a wrestler and the intelligence of a lawyer to the mats. He’s dangerous and a serious contender for the overall championship. He’s not a point player; out of 34 professional wins, 19 of them are via subs. He’s also a real contender to take over as the Handsome Belt Champion, apologies to Handsome Kevin Sherrill.
  3. Kyle Boehm – 2/3 of wins are via submission and most of the others are in EBI overtime where Kyle gets to crush people with his rear naked chokes. One of 10th Planet’s most prolific competitors, Kyle Boehm has faced the best in jiu jitsu: Gordon Ryan, Craig Jones, Lucas Barbosa, etc. Boehm has been close to the pinnacle, but stopped just shy. Now, Boehm finds himself in a league which highlights his strengths: submissions. In other promotions, competitors could continually disengage with Boehm and try to win a ref decision – the PGF will have none of that. If competitors try to flee from Boehm’s guard, they will receive a stalling call and be faced with fending Boehm off their back (or at least from top wrestler’s referee position). Plus, he’s probably cutting a good amount of weight for this season.
  4. Chris Wojcik – Wojcik placed fourth in the most recent ADCC at -88kg. That’s about 10lbs less than the 205lb limit at PGF World 7, but it’s still with the big boys. Wojcik is a professional grappler: training, teaching, competing, and writing about it. In his interview with the PGF Insiders, Wojcik showed he’d put some real thought into preparing for the PGF – read: his mind matches his awesome jiu jitsu skill. Wojcik has gone far in the ADCC trials for a number of iterations. He trains with some of the best grapplers in the world at B Team. As the first B Team representative to compete in the PGF, Wojcik has the chance to show the PGF World, the B Team are the best grapplers in the world.
  5. Adam Bradley – Started Jiu Jitsu at 14, he moved to San Diego at 19. Bradley studied at Atos and taught there. He’s since moved to B Team for his team affiliation, but he still lives in San Diego. He’s the lead jiu jitsu instructor at The Arena, in San Diego. Now he’s joined B Team, so he’s been a part of two of the best teams in jiu jitsu. At Who’s Next, he won a three-hour match via submission, so he has grit to match his “escape artist” nickname. But, being an escape artist doesn’t get you subs in 6 minutes. So, these rankings probably have him lower than expected. If he taps into his catch wrestling background, he could definitely prove us wrong
  6. 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. Went against Mason Fowler for SUG title. Faced very high profile people. Competed in a 2 hour plus match for the Who’s Next Finale. He’s got momentum coming off a great AIGA qualifier showing, let’s see if he can keep it going. Freaks Don’t Sleep!
  7. Elijah Carlton – “Never bet against Elijah Carlton in the PGF!” – while Egghead has said it repeatedly on the PGF broadcast, fellow PGF Insider Walo Jay first coined that phrase…and it’s always proven right. NO ONE has more PGF experience than Elijah Carlton. While some may discount Elijah due to his lack of history in the IBJJF or ADCC, Elijah knows this game. Even facing top competition in PGF Season 6, Elijah was still earned the second-highest amount of points in the regular season and made it to the semifinals of the final. Elijah has stepped up to every challenge in the PGF and shown he’s about that PGF life: when faced with a 225lb roster in Season 2, he subbed everyone but one person; when faced with overtimes in the playoffs, he won it all in Season 5, submitting the runner-up in overtime; when faced with a world-class roster in Season 6, he was the second highest scorer in the regular season. Tell Elijah what he can’t do in the PGF and he will prove you wrong!
  8. Davis Asare – Asare was a breakout star of PGF World 6, scoring the most points in the regular season, helping his team win the $100k. A last second change led to Asare facing PJ Barch (the top ranked competitor heading into he season) in the first round of the playoffs. Asare’s early exit in the playoffs doubtlessly lit a fire in him. Now Asare is moving up in weight class, but is very dangerous. When asked about moving up, he points out he’s on one of the best teams in the world, which is full of champions at the top weight classes. Asare has a good shot at making a run at the playoffs again.
  9. Travis Thomas – A burgeoning MMA fighter (titles in 2 orgs) who has been training jiu jitsu for less than five years. He played baseball and cheered in college. Travis is the fastest promoted student under Brandon Mccaghren. No one saw him coming in PGF Season 5 and he was one of the big stars of the show. He has great footsweeps and an arsenal of attacks (never the same sub twice in PGF). He knows the game and will be hunting for kills, but is smart enough to take any sub. Playoff bound; stardom bound!
  10. Andre Porfirio – Andre hails from Brazil, but now lives in Miami. Porfirio received his black belt from Roberto “Cyborg” Abreu, 4 years ago, as a part of the Fight Sports team. Porfirio likes to sit and play de la Riva & reverse de la Riva. He loves straight ankles and estima locks. Andre likes to berimbolo, exposing his opponents’ ankles. Porfirio competed in the 2024 ADCC, but had a rough draw, facing eventual -88kg champion Giancarlo Bodoni in the first round (loss via RNC). Now we’ll see what he can do with a fresh start in the PGF World 7 season.
  11. Sebastian Attard – He’s only 23. Out of 79 wins on Smoothcomp, 50 were by submission. He moved from Australia to train with the best in Austin. He’s lower in this rankings list because he’s still somewhat new to the truly competitive scene and doesn’t have the breadth or depth or work as those above him. Don’t get it twisted though, we’re huge fans. 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 – we guarantee it.
  12. Kemoy Anderson – Kemoy has featured more of his promotional skills as the owner/commissioner of Main Character Jiu Jitsu over the last few years. Nevertheless, Kemoy is a beast of a competitor. He first turned heads almost tearing arms off other 10P folks at a 10th Planet Qualifier. Then he had a solid showing at PGF Season 2 (225lb), making the playoffs. Finally, after having competed in the PGF and served as a coach for a PGF team during Season 4, Kemoy gave a compelling performance during PGF Season 5, coming one overtime away from winning it all. Competitors will sleep on Kemoy at their own peril.
  13. Cam Hurd – Cam has been grappling since he was 5 when he started wrestling. He eventually earned a scholarship at Virginia Tech, a D1 Wrestling school. Cam has unreal strength and conditioning. More importantly, he has the experience from PGF Season 5 and Season 6 and the wisdom to know he has to change his game. Cam doesn’t have to compete in jiu jitsu. He’s a family man and has a good job, but grappling is his calling. He is improving constantly and shows unreal work ethic. Cam will motivate his team. He will help them gel.
  14. 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. He’s a huge grappler and probably cutting a good amount of weight for this season. He can be a real stopper, but he can attack upper body and lower body equally. Honestly, since almost all of his matches are European, it’s hard to peg him, but he’s damn good. Now he’ll test his skills in PGF World 7.
  15. Dory Aoun – “The Lebanese Tiger” showcased his smothering pressure during the qualifier. The 4X IBJJF No-Gi Champ (colored belts) 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. Dory normally uses his pressure game and cardio to break opponents, winning the second half of matches. He’s a real talent and a motivating individual, but the question remains: Can he speed up his game to break his opponents in 6 minutes enough to get a submission? By day 3, when competitors start breaking down, Dory will start breaking people.
  16. Fedor Nikolov – Fedor is competing for the first time since receiving his black belt from 10th Planet founder Eddie Bravo. Looking at the Season 5 stats (50% sub rate; 25% kill rate), one would think Fedor would rank very high, but Fedor played the game right. Fedor maximized his opportunities against the bottom half of the PGF Season 5 roster, getting all his submissions against them. Fedor didn’t get any submissions against competitors in the top half of the roster. Fedor has a sick rubber guard game and you know he’s been adding to his arsenal training under Eddie Bravo, the mad scientist of jiu jitsu. Still, until he puts up some wins against this season’s stacked roster, he’s going to be ranked in the bottom half of the rankings himself this time.
  17. Nathan Haddad – A part of a jiu jitsu family, he’s been studying jiu jitsu since he was six years old at his family’s gym. His style is a lot of solid wrestling that usually leads to him taking the back, often getting the RNC. He’s shown he can finish (see match against PGF Season 5 runner-up). He’s shown his grit, giving up 0 points while facing the top two competitors from every opposing team in Season 6. He’s a showman and a fan favorite, but he’s still relegated to being a defensive stopper until he proves otherwise.
  18. Ernesto Rivera – Ernesto Rivera 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.
  19. Brad 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.
  20. Caleb Crump – Caleb Crump comes from a mixed martials arts background. So, he’s tough, very tough. Crump has 54 out of 85 wins via submission per Smoothcomp. His ability to withstand Kyle Chambers and get the win speaks volumes about him. Crump will need that grit and those skills as he faces some of the best grapplers in the world at PGF World 7.

There you have it. The more informed Egghead Warrior Editorial Board Power Rankings. These rankings are from a “who will win” or “who will help a team win the regular season” perspective. The Egghead Warrior Editorial Board has already done their pre-draft fantasy rankings analysis as well – which differs greatly from these rankings. Because the fantasy includes points for takedowns, mounts, back takes/ponts, and stall penalties. The fantasy rankings will be different because the competitors do not necessarily have an incentive to rack up those points (e.g. sitting back for a quick leg lock for three points plus the elbow genie point might be smarter than expending a lot of energy to take someone down, get to mount, then take their back, and possibly not have enough time to sink in the RNC).

If you disagree with these rankings, feel free to post your own on Instagram and tag @EggheadWarrior and @PGFWorld. If you’re more accurate than we are, we’ll give you a shoutout after the season.

Now do your own research and get ready for the most amazing week of jiu jitsu in the world. We’ll be doing fantasy research and predictions every day so you can be ready to make your PGF World fantasy rosters each day. The announcement will happen soon, but the PGF has its own fantasy system now that will allow everyone to win prizes for their fantasy predictions – yeah, you could win prizes, but can you beat Egghead? Doubtful as he has a 20lb brain. Regardless, tune in on 3 November for the PGF Draft – the most exciting draft in sports!

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.