No Gi Worlds 2019: Joao Miyao Books His Place In The Final

Joao Miyao breezed past one of his biggest challenges in the Featherweight division as he met Richard Alarcon in the first round. This set up his semi-final match against Anthony Guy De Oliviera after he got past Suraj Kumar Budhram.

Miyao sat to guard and got to work the moment Oliviera engaged with him, he used a straight ankle-lock attempt to come up on top and score points from the sweep. From here, Oliviera tried to play Miyao at his own game as he attempted a straight ankle-lock of his own. Miyao seemed completely unphased even as Oliviera got his leg to full extension and began to arch his hips into the finish.

Miyao stayed calm and collected, patiently working his way out of single leg X-guard. He came up to pass again and showed an incredibly refined top-game as he was attempting knee-slice passes in both directions before forcing Oliviera to settle in half-guard. From here Miyao backstepped and the moment Oliviera turned to defend the pass, he whipped out a picture-perfect berimbolo in order to take his back. Miyao only managed to get one hook in but sunk his right arm straight under Oliviera’s chin.

With the Rear-Naked Choke grip so deep, Miyao used his free leg to trap Oliviera’s left arm to prevent the choke defense. It was a split second here before Oliviera tapped to the choke he had no chance of defending. All this is no surprise for the vastly experienced Miyao, who returns this year as the previous champion of No Gi Worlds, and having won the 2017 edition as well.

Joao Miyao goes on to the final now against Hiago George Santos Silva after he too has had a great run today. Santos Silva had two excellent displays of technical Jiu-Jitsu against Edwin Ocasio and Francisco Andrade on his way to one of the biggest legends in the sport.

This article is part of our weekend’s coverage of No Gi Worlds 2019, for more results click here.

Or to watch live or book a place at the Nogi Worlds in Anaheim, California, click here.

Alex Lindsey

Alex Lindsey is the managing editor here at Grappling Insider. Originally starting training in MMA in 2008, injuries and university slowed progress until he decided to put on a gi for the first time back in 2015.

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