Video: Anthony Birchak and Josh Rodriguez Trade Slaps at Third Coast Grappling

Third Coast Grappling (3CG) isn’t in the combat jiu-jitsu business, but it might be soon. On Saturday, at 3CG 8: The Underdogs, a superfight match between Anthony Birchak and Josh Rodriguez briefly turned from regular jiu-jitsu into “jits with hits,” as the pair traded slaps mid-match.

The promotion has released video of the exchange.

Birchak, a former UFC fighter and current 10th Planet representative, is the standing competitor, and appears to respond to a slap from Rodriguez with a harder slap of his own. Rodriguez would end up the winner of the match.

After the match, things seem to have cooled down. For his part, Rodriguez said he doesn’t regret the slap but is willing to have a rematch with Birchak.

Third Coast Grappling 8: The Underdogs took place on Saturday, October 23 and aired on Fite TV pay-per-view. The event featured a 16-man 180-pound grand prix, won by Renato Canuto on the strength of his victories over accomplished competitors including Jake Shields and Jeferson Guaresi.

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 holds the rank of black 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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