Giancarlo Bodoni defeats three ADCC vets to win $25K at Blue Collar Fight Club
Giancarlo Bodoni conquered a loaded eight-man bracket to win $25,000 at the first Blue Collar Fight Club event.
The first-ever Blue Collar Fight Club event took place on Friday, September 1, and featured a stacked eight-man absolute tournament with a $25,000 cash purse on the line.
Reigning 88kg ADCC champion Giancarlo Bodoni took home the tournament title on the strength of victories over Elder Cruz, Andy Varela, and in the final, Roberto Jimenez.
The tournament matches were conducted under a unique mixture of submission-only and points rulesets. The 10 minutes of each contest consisted of a submission-only regulation period. If no submission occurred during regulation, the match moved to two, three-minute golden score overtime periods. After that, if neither grappler had scored in overtime, the bout would go to a judge’s decision.
In the opening round, Bodoni showed off his ever-improving wrestling to secure a golden score overtime win over Checkmat standout Elder Cruz.
Next, in the semifinals, the New Wave representative battled a very game Andy Varela. Despite giving up a significant size advantage, Varela pushed the pace throughout the match, nearly passing Bodoni’s guard on a few occasions. Still, Bodoni worked extremely well from his guard and scored a clean takedown during the regulation period. Ultimately, neither man was able to secure a submission or score in overtime, and Bodoni was awarded the decision win.
And in the final, Bodoni squared off with Roberto Jimenez, who had earned a pair of sensational submission victories on his way to the final. In one of the most high-paced matches of the evening, the two black belts exchanged position for the 10-minute regulation period, as well as the two overtime periods. In the end, Bodoni earned the decision win thanks to his aggressive work from the guard.
