BJJ Stars 3: The Return – Preview

June 30, 2020June 30, 2020 Michel Davidovich

BJJ Stars 3 is here! In case you don’t know, BJJ Stars is a rising promotion that specializes in matching up very talented athletes from Brazil. The promotion has been ramping up the match ups on every edition of the tournament. They’re coming back for more with their third event on July 25th, live from Brazil.

The first edition of BJJ Stars saw a mixture of old and new stars of the sport together under one event. Current rivals like Nicholas Meregali and Leandro Lo or Joao Gabriel Rocha and Marcus Almeida “Buchecha” faced each other on the main card, with both “underdogs” pulling off the upset.

This event was also a controversial one for those who saw it live. It was the infamous event where Erberth Santos went full berserker mode on Felipe Pena’s corner and got kicked in the face.

Their next event was much more laid back and less controversy-packed. It consisted of an 8 man open weight bracket featuring a whole bunch of killers. This event was the Meregali show, as he cruised through his side of the bracket and submitted Gustavo Batista in the final.

Now, BJJ Stars 3 is going for broke with this lineup! I’ll throw in some names so you can see for yourselves: Felipe Pena, Kaynan Duarte, Patrick Gaudio, Erberth Santos, Leandro Lo, Lucas “Hulk” Barbosa amongst other beasts! The full line up can be seen below. Also, bear in mind that the event is pay-per-view only.

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The Biggest BJJ Stars 3 Matchups

Kaynan Duarte – Felipe Pena

This event has without a doubt the strongest line up the promoter Fernando “Fepa” Lopez has organized. The main event has Felipe “Preguiça” throwing down with Kaynan Duarte. Both of them were Gi world champions in 2019, both of them are amazing competitors and we can’t wait to see this fight take place! Pena is generally the guard puller and plays a very diverse game and Kaynan is an outstanding passer so I’m expecting Pena to pull and Kaynan to try to force single leg X and pass.

If Kaynan was to pull guard, I think Pena may try to force the turtle, create a scramble and attack the back. The two have never met at blackbelt before, so this is an opportunity for both to get the first leg up in what will probably be a history of back and forth wars. Tune in to BJJ Stars 3 and see for yourself!

Leandro Lo – Lucas “Hulk” Barbosa

“Hulk” versus Leandro Lo has fight of the night written all over it. Leandro is an amazing dynamic passer and equally dangerous guard player. Lucas is a strong top player with superhuman base and posture. Leandro doesn’t care to play either top or bottom, but I wouldn’t expect him to pull carelessly given that Hulk often attacks cartwheel passes to counter guard pulls. He will probably engage on the feet and wait for his opportunity to pull striaght into his trademark Lo guard.

These two athletes have only faced each other once at the 2019 Pan Championships. The match was very close in favor of “Hulk”, who took Leandro’s chance at becoming a 9-time Pan Champion. There was a possibility of a rematch on the last BJJ Stars, but the brackets didn’t play out as expected and neither athlete made it to the final. Expect early fireworks from these two warriors!

Erberth Santos – Patrick Gaudio

Finally there’s Gaudio fighting Erberth Santos… Erberth’s last appearance on the BJJ Stars stage wasn’t very spectator-friendly. He relinquished the match with Felipe Pena allegating a knee injury and then out-of-nowhere attacked one of his cornermen. Gaudio is a gamer, and a very dangerous passer with underrated guard skills. He’ll propably start the match slower and try to weather the early storm. I think he may pull guard, but if he does he needs to be weary of Erberth’s kneebar and anckle locks from top, especially from 50/50.

The match might turn out to be a handful for Erberth too. He will definitely try to stay on top and launch Gaudio through the air. But Erberth and Gaudio both have very strong footlocks, so even though Santos should have a slight edge here, it all depends on what Erberth shows up on July 25th. It is a match up for the ages though, so expect them both to bring it!

The Rest Of The BJJ Stars 3 Card

There are other interesting matches in the BJJ Stars 3 line up, such as Bianca Basilio vs Anna Rodrigues, and Meyram Maquine vs Cleber Clandestino. Bianca is an ankle lock machine and Anna Rodrigues is an open guard assassin. She is the head coach of the female team at the Dream Art Project as well. They have only faced each other once, with Bianca winning by points at the Abu Dhabi World Pro in 2019.

There is also Meyram Maquine from Lloyd Irvin versus Cleber Clandestino from Almeida Jiu Jitsu. Lighter weight classes always have a very tactical aspect to them, as they are rarely decided on explosiveness or physicality. Stay tuned for this one!

The main card has another really interesting match, for which I haven’t decided on what to expect. Claudio Calasans will be squaring off against Isaque Bahiense for the third time. Isaque is a tactical god. His strategy is always to score by either going for the takedown or by pulling 50/50, forcing an advantage and winning the 50/50 battle.

They’ve faced each other twice, with Isaque winning both times. Their first encounter was at ACB 12 where Isaque won on points and their second match was at 2018 Worlds, with Isaque winning via DQ. We’ll see if this match ends up differently, but it is very difficult to bet against Isaque in an IBJJF points set up.

I love how BJJ Stars also brings back some old legends and UFC/Bellator fighters like Gabriel Gonzaga, Charles “Do Bronx” Oliveira and Serginho Moraes. It’ll be interesting to see how their matches play out, especially as they are all in the Gi!

The event will be streamed live as a pay-per-view, click here to purchase the event.

Full BJJ Stars 3 Card

The Biggest BJJ Stars 3 Matchups

Kaynan Duarte – Felipe Pena

Leandro Lo – Lucas “Hulk” Barbosa

Erberth Santos – Patrick Gaudio

The Rest Of The BJJ Stars 3 Card

Michel Davidovich