Event Preview – Breaking down this Saturday’s Onnit Invitational

By TXMMA Staff

Onnit Invitational and Eddie Bravo Seminar usher in new 10th Planet Texas location at Onnit Academy

AUSTIN, TX – A lot of people are exciting for the new 10th Planet Academy officially opening up in the ATX. There are a ton of reasons for this including the surging popularity of the nogi game and footlocks plus the success of the Eddie Bravo-led EBI (Eddie Bravo Invitiational) series but the point is, there’s a lot of buzz around 10P Austin to be located at 4401 Freidrich Ln.

10th Planet head Eddie Bravo will be in town to usher in the new academy this Saturday with a 2.5 hour seminar showcasing his innovative brand of jiujitsu, sans the kimono of course.

Immediately following the seminar, there will be an exclusive seminar put on by the boys at 10P and Onnit, to be streamed live on flograppling.com.

The Onnit Invitational will features an 8-man submission-only tournament bracket along with several other superfights featuring Texas-based grapplers against 10th Planet representatives from around the nation. Unique to this tournament is that all matches will feature EBI Rules. This means that all subs, including heel hooks, twisters, calf crushers, you name it… all legal.

It should be great time.

Onnit Invitational: 8-Man Division Breakdown

Here’s a quick look at the 8 grapplers involved in the 8-man bracket this Saturday.

Richie Martinez (10th Planet San Diego) – Known as the “Boogeyman,” Richie is one of Eddie Bravo’s top lieutenants and longtime students. The 6’2″ grappler out of Vista, VA helms his own school and has had some students do really well in competitions such as the last NOGI Worlds. In addition to teaching, his own record includes MMA competition, where he went 2-0 as an amateur before turning pro, where is currently 3-1 and is a veteran of Titan FC.

Robert Rodriguez (10th Planet HQ) – Competing out of 10th Planet HQ, Rodriguez is another black belt just like his teammate Richie. He’s known for having a strong wrestling base in addition to the innovative techniques he’s learned right under the tutelage of Bravo.

Tommy McCay (Gracie Humaita Austin) – A brown belt at Gracie Humaita’s Austin location under Prof. Donald Park, Tommy is known as a respectable and humble guy by those who know him. He’s also a veteran of the Texas competition circuit, having medaled a few times at tournaments like Fight to Win’s 2013 Austin Open.

Derrick Garza (Eastside Austin Elite) – The head instructor at Austin Eastside Elite, Derrick has deep roots as a Paragon BJJ black belt. He’s also the lead designer of his own brand, Dark Clan and is known to be creative on and off the mats. We here at TXMMA haven’t seen Derrick in action since Matshark a while back but he’s as legit as anyone on this list.

Jose Llanas (Team Tooke / Ribeiro Jiu Jitsu) – Quiet and unassuming, it’s easy to overlook Jose Angel Llanas out of Team Tooke but rest assured that his jiujitsu is as sound as they come. He’s a veteran of regional circuits like Fight to Win / World Grappling Circuit, Grand Prix Grappling and others but has also competed on the national level and shown well. Both modern and old school, he can adapt to any game that’s in front of him. It will be interesting to see how he can adapt to the unqiue rules of EBI.

Jose Portillo (Paragon BJJ) – Another Austin local, Jose Portillo is a newly-minted black belt at Paragon BJJ Austin that’s known locally for being technical and a super nice guy. He’s tough and has perennially placed at tournaments like the IBJJF Houston Open, for example.

Mike Reilly (Team Rabadi) – A black belt under Robby Rabadi, Mike Reilly will no doubt be a force to watch. Admittedly, Mike is one of the competitors on this list we’ve seen the least of, which makes him kind of a dark horse. Look for him to try and surprise some folks come Saturday.

Manuel Ribamar (RPBJJ/PSLPB Cicero Costha) – A Texan for the better part of the last year or two, Manuel Ribamar comes from the Amazonas state of Brazil, a region that’s produced fighter/grapplers like Carlos Diego Ferreira, José Aldo, Bibiano Fernandes and many others. That alone should prove that he’s tough but he’s also got the resume to back it up, including a double gold win at the inaugural San Antonio Open.

Our Pick: Hard to say who wins this thing but based on the ruleset, we’d have to say Richie “Boogeyman” Martinez probably heads in as the favorite. EBI rules experience aside and he could be upset by any number of this candidates on this list, with Manuel Ribamar being our pick for the one who does it.

Onnit Invitational: Best of the Rest

Here are the additional matches set up for the Onnit Invitiational:

Travis Newaza (Newaza Apparel) vs. Travis Tooke (Ribeiro Jiu Jitsu)

Cora Sek (Team Tooke/10th Planet Ronin) vs. Alex Terrier (Texas Punishment Crew)

Sean Applegate (10th Planet Gulf Shores) vs. Ken Alfaro (Darkside Jiu Jitsu)

Brandon Mccraghren (10th Planet Decatur) vs. Toby Imada (Eastside Austin Elite)

Travis Moore (BQuick BJJ) vs, Jason Carr (Team Drop)

Nate Harris (10th Planet Santa Fe) vs. Dan Dau (Gracie Humaita Austin)

Thoughts:
The size difference between the big boy Travis Newaza and Travis Tooke is significant but Travis has been around the block a time or two and should be able to use his technique to make up for that. He competes regularly in addition to teaching some top-notch grapplers and MMA fighters at his academy. At the same time, Travis is no slouch having trained extensively under Eddie Bravo and Josh Barnett in addition to his time traveling and training wherever he goes. The real key here is how the leg lock game of the catch wrestler Newaza can play into this equation. Between the size and the experience gaps, along with the leg lock stuff and undeniable skill of both these men despite their stylistic differences, this makes for a very interesting match.

The match between Cora Sek and Alex Terrier should be an interesting one also. Alex is a little older/bigger at this point but Cora has really come into her own as she’s carried those innovative 10P techniques with her as she’s begun to fight teens and adults in an increasingly growing list of divisions should does at every tournament.

All the others including the MMA vet Toby Imada and the BQUICK trained Travis Moore should be fun to watch as well.

Make sure to tune in starting at roughly 3PM or so this Saturday to catch all the action LIVE via flograppling.com.