Gabriel Almada 
WNO 20: Night of Champions electrified the Bayou Music Center on Sunday night, October 1st. The event promoted five belt disputes and brought results that shook the Jiu-Jitsu community.
In his return to competition after almost a year away, Gordon Ryan proved that the true king never loses his majesty and retained the organization’s heavyweight belt. Gordon performed a monologue in front of Patrick Gaudio and finished the Brazilian with an armbar from his back. Beforehand, the American passed guard, mounted and nullified Patrick’s game.
Gordon performed masterfully and was sublime to win with authority on his return to the competitive circuit. In the post-fight interview, Ryan brought a mysterious chest to the mat and picked up a card that predicted he would win the fight with an armbar. He also challenged Lucas Hulk to a fight in the main event of WNO 21, scheduled for November 30, and the match has already been made official by the organization.
Mica Galvão brought the crowd to its feet with a triumphant finish in the final of the 77kg division. Mica applied a sensational flying armbar and finished PJ Barch in just 45 seconds to capture the middleweight belt. Mica would have made the final with Andrew Tackett, but he was unable to compete due to injury. Mica was also awarded a check for a thousand dollars for the Best Finish of the Night bonus. In the semi-final, the phenom beat Jay Rodriguez in the judges’ decision.
The dominator of the seas proved once again that he is at the top of the food chain in the -66kg category. The ADCC champion imposed himself on the WNO and added another coveted title to his resume. Diogo Reis beat Gabriel Sousa in the judges’ decision to become the promotion’s new featherweight champion. “Baby Shark” had the upper hand in the early stages of the fight, landing on Gabriel’s side, but saw his opponent increase his output in the last few minutes. Gabriel offered real danger of a finish in two situations, but it wasn’t enough to avoid the setback.
Mom’s in the game! Nathiely de Jesus defeated Rafaela Guedes by unanimous decision to become the new WNO heavyweight champion. Nathiely was more dangerous throughout the fight and managed to get onto Rafaela’s back on a few occasions. Rafaela prevented her opponent from landing hooks, but she didn’t prevent Nathiely from controlling for much of the fight.
Elisabeth Clay’s victory came after a twist in the course of the fight. Brianna Ste-marie pressed the pace at the start and almost finished Elisabeth with a katagatame. Faced with the disadvantage, Clay got back to her feet, swept Brianna and began to dictate the tone of the fight. The Ares BJJ athlete was more active, risked attacks with the hand triangle and was superior in the eyes of the referees and won the featherweight title.
Rafael Lovato Jr scored his second consecutive WNO victory by submission. In a clash of carts, Lovato strangled Ricardo Evangelista in a triangle, moments after taking the GFTeam fighter’s back. In the post-fight interview, Lovato challenged Pedro Marinho, who came to the mats and proposed a fight for November 30th.
Check out the results below:
WNO 20: Night of Champions
Austin, Texas (USA)
October 1st, 2023
Gordon Ryan defeated Gaudio by submission
Mica Galvão defeated PJ Barch by submission
Diogo Reis defeated Gabriel Sousa by judges’ decision
Nathiely de Jesus defeated Rafaela Guedes by referees’ decision
Elisabeth Clay defeated Brianna Ste-Marie by referees’ decision
Rafael Lovato Jr defeated Ricardo Evangelista by submission
Thaynara Victoria defeated Tiffany Butler by submission
Steffen Banta defeated Thomas Bracher by submission
