With the advent of UFC championship in 1993, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu also emerged as the famous combat sports in Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) with Royce Gracie dictating the tournament utilizing the BJJ combat techniques and movements for grappling and ground fighting to pacify other UFC fighters.
While Royce Gracie and Dan Severn dominating the pay-per-view events in the late 90’s, the wrestling era was slowly taken over by Tito Ortiz, and now the likes of Conor McGregor, Stephen Thompson and Ronda Rousey are ruling over the hearts of MMA fans. However, MMA fighting have undergone a renaissance of sorts in terms of BJJ professional attracting considerable MMA fight news with fighters like Mackenzie Dern and Kron Gracie bringing back the BJJ trend in MMA.
Nate Diaz vs. Dillon Daniel- The Expected MMA Showdown
The recent upsurge in MMA fight scene was created when Nate Diaz, 31, called out Conor McGregor’s BJJ training partner Dillon Danis exclaiming that he is next on his ‘hit list’. The 23 years old BJJ star was quick to respond and accepted the Diaz’s challenge.
In a recent interview, Danis also shed lights on his plans for a MMA career and declared his interest in fighting an MMA bout against Nate Diaz. Although fighting against an opponent who is yet to make his MMA debut might provide Diaz with an experiential edge, Danis does not think so. Incidentally, Danis is a black belt in BJJ under Marcelo Garcia in New York, and is looking forward to win the IBJJF championship but said that he could skip it and combat Diaz in a MMA fight ‘tomorrow’.
Michelle Nicolini’s ONE FC Title Dream
Michelle Nicolini, the eight-time BJJ Champion, after securing a comfortable victory over Mona Samir in her ONE Championship debut match last month, has her eyes all fixed on winning the MMA organization’s inaugural women’s flyweight championship. Michelle, 34, appears to be determined on winning her first ONE FC title, calling it her “biggest dream at the moment”.
However, her dreams might be shattered by the 33 year old Russian stand-up specialist, Irina Mazepa, who is high on confidence after beating both Ana Julatan and Ann Osman. Michelle is also keeping an eye on her potential title match opponent assessing “gaps in her games”.
While she will look to utilize those gaps against her match with Mazepa, the only thing on Michelle’s mind right now is to win the ONE title and continue her successful BJJ run in MMA fighting as well.
Nonetheless, it is evident that BJJ stars are attracting considerable MMA fight news but it will be interesting to see how both Dillon Danis and Michelle Nicolini will adapt to MMA fighting plans.