Dan Strauss and Richie Martinez Added to Polaris Squads

The teams for Polaris Squads: Team UK/Ireland vs. Team USA continue to take shape. Polaris veteran and commentator Dan Strauss will represent Team UK/Ireland, while 10th Planet representative Richie “Boogeyman” Martinez will compete for Team USA. The event is scheduled to take place on July 17.

Strauss joins team captain Darragh O’Conaill and Ross Nicholls on the European team, and Martinez will join team captain JT Torres, as well as Edwin Najmi on Team USA.

Known for his impressive feats of strength, Dan Strauss is a black belt under Roger Gracie. A longtime Polaris competitor and some-time commentator, many fans will remember Strauss for his incredibly entertaining and contentious Polaris submission-only match with AJ Agazarm.

Richie Martinez is a veteran no-gi and submission-only competitor. In typical 10th Planet fashion, he is a submission hunter with an excellent guard game. He holds notable wins over Jake Shields, Kevin Casey, and Marcin Held.

Polaris Squads is a team-based event in which grapplers from each team compete head-to-head in submission-only matches with the winning grappler staying on the mat to face the opposing team’s next chosen grappler. In the event a match ends with no submission, both competitors leave the mat. The team with the most submissions at the end of regulation wins.

How to watch: Polaris Squads takes place on July 17 and will air exclusively on UFC Fighpass.

Ben Coate

Ben has been involved with grappling, whether through wrestling or Brazilian jiu-jitsu, essentially his entire life. After wrestling throughout his childhood, Ben found Brazilian jiu-jitsu as a young adult and quickly fell in love. He has been training for over ten years and holds the rank of black belt, and remains involved in both the MMA and BJJ scene. Ben has been writing about combat sports since 2017. He has interviewed and profiled some of MMA's biggest stars, including multiple UFC champions.

Ben Coate has 1216 posts and counting. See all posts by Ben Coate