Ethan Crelinsten to Face Gabriel Sousa at Fight to Win 175

Saturday’s Fight to Win 175 event is rapidly taking shape, with a high-level match-up between Ethan Crelinsten and Gabriel Sousa scheduled for the main event. The match was announced via the promotion’s Instagram page.

A representative of the Danaher Death Squad, Ethan Crelinsten is a veteran of the no-gi jiu-jitsu submission-only scene. He is coming off a gold medal performance at the Atlanta no-gi Open, and prior to that, he lost by submission to Kade Ruotolo at Who’s Number One. Crelinsten holds notable wins over PJ Barch, Jonnatas Gracie, and Keith Krikorian, among others.

A black belt since 2018, Gabriel Sousa is an active competitor across a variety of rulesets. He is a European Open no-gi champion and holds wins over Gianni Grippo, Thiago Macedo, and Cole Franson.

Both Crelinsten and Sousa have skills in all areas of jiu-jitsu — guard play, back attacks, and guard passing. Crelinsten likely has the advantage in terms of leg locks and overall submission prowess, but he’ll have his hands full if Sousa is able to play from his back, where he has an incredibly tricky guard and excellent scrambles to the back.

How to watch: Fight to Win 175 takes place on Saturday, June 26 and will air live on FloGrappling (subscription required).

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 currently holds the rank of brown 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.

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