Fight to Win 163 Preview: Kennedy Maciel Defends Belt Against Diego Oliveira
Fight to Win continues its breakneck schedule this weekend with Fight to Win 163 on February 13, live from Dallas, TX. The promotion has announced a trio of high-level matches for the event, including a lightweight gi title match between champion Kennedy Maciel and challenger Diego “Pato” Oliveira.
Elsewhere on the card, stand-outs like Pedro Marinho, Matheus Luna, and Aaron “Tex” Johnson will all be in action.
The son of Rubens “Cobrinha” Charles, Maciel is a piece of grappling royalty. He is an IBJJF world and Pans no-gi champion. Maciel has also impressed in submission-only competition, defeating Junny Ocasio at Fight to Win 156 and Geo Martinez at Who’s Number One 5.
“Pato” Oliveira is no push-over, though. He was a multiple-time world champion in the colored belts, and most recently competed at Fight to Win 161 when he earned an impressive decision victory over Gabriel Sousa.
In an elite no-gi match-up, Checkmat representative Matheus Luna will square off with Gracie Barra’s Pedro Marinho. Both men are relatively new black belts, but both realized plenty of competitive success in the colored belts. Luna will have his hands full against Marinho, who had an incredibly active 2020 while earning wins over the likes of Johnny Tama, Oliver Taza, and Roberto Jimenez.
Finally, Fight to Win 163 will feature a match between Max Gimenis and Aaron “Tex” Johnson. Gimenis is a guard passing specialist representing GF Team and was a 2020 IBJJF Pans Champion. Johnson is a long-time elite competitor and is coming into this match fresh off his beautiful reverse armbar win at Fight to Win 161.
Fight to Win 163 takes place on February 13 and will air live from Dallas, TX on Flo Grappling.
