WNO 22 results and highlights: Hugo decisions Rodriguez; Pato earns champ-champ status
View the full results and video highlights from WNO 22: Rodriguez vs. Hugo, which took place on Friday, February 9.
On Friday, FloGrappling’s Who’s Number One (WNO) returned to Costa Mesa, California for the promotion’s first show of 2024.
Headlined by an intriguing heavyweight match between Nick Rodriguez and Victor Hugo, WNO 22 delivered plenty of submissions and high-paced matches.
Hugo’s guard play key to victory over Rodriguez
In the main event, 2023 IBJJF Worlds double-gold medalist Hugo picked up a hard-fought decision victory over two-time ADCC silver medalist Rodriguez.
As expected, the Brazilian attacked from his vaunted guard for essentially the entire match. While Rodriguez looked to employ his trademark body lock passing, Hugo was able to find success early in a deep armbar attempt and, later, a look at the American’s legs.
Those submission attacks put Hugo ahead early, but Rodriguez displayed excellent stamina and roared back in the closing minutes with ultra-aggressive passing and was even able to secure a clean pass.
However, Hugo displayed excellent guard recovery to stay out of danger on his way to taking home a unanimous decision victory.
Galvao dominates a game Iwamoto
WNO welterweight champion Mica Galvao looked on point from start to finish in his title defense against multiple-time ADCC Trials winner Kenta Iwamoto.
The Japanese athlete landed several takedowns early only to be immediately put in danger by Galvao submissions. And while Iwamoto showed phenomenal submission defense in escaping, he looked to be a step behind Galvao.
As the match wore on, Galvao gained more of an advantage and was ultimately able to find the back and secure the match-ending rear-naked choke.
Pato taps Leon to become two-division champion
Art of Jiu-Jitsu representative Diego “Pato” Oliveira picked up one of the biggest victories of his career as he moved up in weight to challenge pound-for-pound standout Dante Leon for the WNO lightweight title.
“Pato” was aggressive early and often, looking for leg entanglements from his guard while Leon tried to pass from the headquarters position. After several minutes of action, Oliveira found his way into an outside heel hook and, in the blink of an eye, secured the tap.
The Brazilian is now the WNO featherweight and lightweight champion. His victory over Leon – Grappling Insider’s 2023 Male Grappler of the Year – establishes him as arguably the sport’s top current pound-for-pound competitor.
Other WNO 22 results: Dalpra, Fornarino, and Couch
In other action, multiple-time gi world champion Tainan Dalpra looked sharp in just his second no-gi match, dominating veteran Oliver Taza on both the feet and the mat en route to a unanimous decision win. The Art of Jiu-Jitsu product’s top game looks to be every bit as effective in no-gi as it was in the gi.
Also, Adele Fornarino earned the fastest submission in WNO history with her 23-second Aoki lock against the highly respected Amanda “Tubby” Alequin.
And in the opening match of the main card, recent ADCC Trials winner Jacob “The Hillbilly Hammer” Couch secured a textbook outside heel hook on Unity Jiu-Jitsu’s Sebastian Rodriguez.
Full WNO 22 results
Main card
- Victor Hugo def. Nick Rodriguez via decision
- Mica Galvao def. Kenta Iwamoto via submission (rear-naked choke) – WNO welterweight title
- Diego “Pato” Oliveira def. Dante Leon via submission (heel hook) – WNO lightweight title
- Tainan Dalpra def. Oliver Taza via decision
- Adele Fornarino def. Amanda “Tubby” Alequin via submission (Aoki lock)
- Jacob “The Hillbilly Hammer” Couch def. Sebastian Rodriguez via submission (heel hook)
Preliminary card
- Elijah Dorsey def. Ivan Herrera via submission (shoulder lock from back)
- Daniel Sathler def. Max Hanson via submission (armbar)
- Ashlee Funegra def. Marilyn Cruz via decision
- Dory Aoun def. Kyle Chambers via decision
