Polaris Pro Grappling is Europe's longest running large-scale professional grappling event. They have organized dozens of events, primarily in the UK but also elsewhere in Europe. The promotion has produced events with a variety of different formats like regular fight-nights, grand prix tournaments, and team grappling matches.

Polaris has attracted some of the biggest names from Brazilian Jiu-jitsu, Grappling and Mixed Martial Arts including Keenan Cornelius, Michelle Nicolini, Brad Pickett, Rousimar Palhares, Dean Lister, Masakazu Imanari, Ikuhisa Minowa, Vítor Ribeiro, Fernando Terere, Caol Uno, and Craig Jones.

They have also featured several former MMA world champions, like Strikeforce Middleweight Champion Jake Shields, Bellator MMA welterweight world champion Rafael Lovato Jr., and UFC Lightweight Champion and WEC Lightweight Champion Benson Henderson. Former UFC Welterweight competitor Dan Hardy and UFC referee Marc Goddard have served as event judges, while Hardy and regular Polaris competitor Dan Strauss have often served as commentators. The promotion streams all of their events live on UFC Fight Pass, other than smaller 'Contenders' tournaments where athletes compete for a place on their numbered events.

Current Polaris Title Holders

Events

2015 in Polaris

Polaris 1

Polaris 1 was a grappling event held by Polaris Pro Grappling on January 10, 2015, at St David's Hall in Cardiff, Wales.

Results

Polaris 2

Polaris 2 was a grappling event held by Polaris Pro Grappling on September 12, 2015, at St David's Hall in Cardiff, Wales.

Background

Results

2016 in Polaris

Polaris 3

Polaris 3 was a grappling event held by Polaris Pro Grappling on April 2, 2016, at the Lighthouse in Poole, England.

Background

Results

Polaris 4

Polaris 4 was a grappling event held by Polaris Pro Grappling on October 29, 2016, at the Lighthouse in Poole, England.

Background

Results

2017 in Polaris

Polaris 5

Polaris 5 was a grappling event held by Polaris Pro Grappling on August 19, 2017, at the Indigo at The O2 in London, England.

Background

Results

2018 in Polaris

Polaris 6

Polaris 6 was a grappling event held by Polaris Pro Grappling on February 17, 2018, at the Indigo at The O2 in London, England.

Background

Results

Polaris 7

Polaris 7 was a grappling event held by Polaris Pro Grappling on July 14, 2018, at the Indigo at The O2 in London, England.

Background

Results

Polaris 8

Polaris 8 was a grappling event held by Polaris Pro Grappling on December 9, 2018, at the Ice Arena Wales in Cardiff, Wales.

Background

The event was the third the Polaris has hosted at the Ice Arena Wales in Cardiff, Wales and the first since Polaris 2.

This event featured three world title fights. The card was headlined by the current Polaris middleweight Champion Craig Jones and the former IBJJF champion Keenan Cornelius in a match to crown the inaugural Polaris Light Heavyweight Champion. It was a rematch from their fight at ADCC 2017, which Cornelius had won.

Results

2019 in Polaris

Polaris 9

Polaris 9 was a grappling event held by Polaris Pro Grappling on March 15, 2019, at the Indigo at The O2 in London, England.

Background

The event was the fourth the Polaris has hosted at the Indigo at The O2 in London, England. The card was headlined by a catchweight superfight between the multiple-time MMA champion Jake Shields and future Bellator MMA Middleweight Champion and grappling champion Rafael Lovato Jr.

In the co-featured slot, for inaugural the Polaris Women Under 55KG Championship a bout between IBJJF(2018) champion Ffion Davies and IBJJF(2013/2014/2016) champion Gezary Matuda took place.

Bonus awards

The following fighters were awarded bonuses:

• Performance of the Night: Ffion Davies
• Submission of the Night: Ethan Crelinsten

Results

Polaris 10

Polaris 10 was a grappling event held by Polaris Pro Grappling on May 25, 2019, at the Lighthouse in Poole, England.

Background

Brad Pickett was scheduled to face Caol Uno at Polaris 10, but Pickett was forced off the card on March 12 with an injury. Leigh Remedios has stepped in on short notice to face Uno.

Results

Polaris 11

Polaris 11 was a grappling event held by Polaris Pro Grappling on August 31, 2019, at the Bridgewater Hall in Manchester, England.

Background

Vagner Rocha has had to pull out of his title fight against Mansher Khera. However, Edwin Najmi stepping up on short notice to face Khera.

Marc Diakiese has had to pull out of his match with Chris Fishgold, however, Diakiese's training partner and grappling instructor, Liam Cann, will be stepping in on short notice to test himself against the powerful UFC grappler.

Unfortunately due to a last minute training injury, Satoshi Ishii is unable to compete and so the match with Arya Esfandmaz will have to be postponed.

Results

Polaris 12

Polaris 12 was a grappling event held by Polaris Pro Grappling on November 30, 2019, at the International Convention Centre Wales in Newport, Wales.

Background

João Miyao has been forced to withdraw from his scheduled Polaris Bantamweight Championship bout against Ashley Williams due to an injury, Azize Hlali has stepped in as a replacement. Unfortunately, Hlali has been unable to compete. Williams instead faced Richard Alarcon, who stepped in on a weeks notice for this encounter.

Fight Card

2020 in Polaris

Polaris 13: UK Grand Prix

Polaris 13: UK Grand Prix was a grappling event held by Polaris Pro Grappling on July 11, 2020, at the International Convention Centre Wales in Newport, Wales.

Background

Differing from the previous Polaris events, the event was a one-night tournament with all eight competitors weighing in at under 90 kg.

Fight Card

Polaris 14: Squads

Background

Polaris 14: Squads was the first event of the promotion's new format that featured two teams of eight grapplers, four under 75 kg and four under 95 kg on each team. They competed across an eighty-minute time period, split into two halves. The first event of its kind to use this unique ruleset, it saw UFC veterans and elite BJJ black belts representing Team UK and Ireland, and Team Europe. The event also featured a non-title superfight between Ffion Davies and Magdalena Loska.

Team UK and Ireland

-75kg

Ashley Williams

Tom Halpin

Dominic Dillon

Jed Hue

-95kg

Darragh O'Connail

Bradley Hill

Kieran Davern

Taylor Pearman

Team Europe

-75kg

Mateusz Szczeciński

Tommi Pulkkanen

Kamil Wilk

Dinu Bucalet

-95kg

Eduardo 'Teta' Rios

Marcin Held

Tarik Hopstock

Santeri Lilius

Results

After a total of seventeen matches, Team UK & Ireland won the event 1–0. Fifteen of the matches ended in a draw and double-elimination, with the only submission coming from Tom Halpin. He submitted Dinu Bucalet via Triangle Choke late in the first half. The main event superfight saw Ffion Davies defeat Magdalena Loska via Rear-Naked Choke.

Polaris 15: Squads 2

Background

Polaris 15: Squads 2 changed the format slightly from their first Squads event, with this edition being contested in the gi instead and the presence of Team UK instead of the addition of Ireland. Team Europe remained unchanged, although the lineup for both teams was drastically different from the first event, owing to the switch from no gi to gi. The superfight for this event featured a contest for the promotion's vacant Featherweight Championship between former Squads teammates, Ashley Williams and Tom Halpin.

Team UK

-75kg

Bryn Jenkins

Adam Adshead

Tyrone Elliott

Sam Gibson

-95kg

Arya Esfandmaz

Bradley Hill

Jamie Paxman

Marcos Nardini

Team Europe

-75kg

Espen Mathiesen

Tommi Pulkkanen

Leon Larman

Dinu Bucalet

-95kg

Adam Wardzinski

Tommy Langaker

Luca Anacoreta

Max Lindblad

Results

After a total of twenty-two matches, Team Europe won the event 9–0. Eight of the matches ended in a finish, with the remaining fourteen being declared a draw and Team Europe being awarded a bonus point as Bryn Jenkins was forced to withdraw after half-time due to an injury. Tommy Langaker submitted Bryn Jenkins via Armbar, Marcos Nardini via Triangle Choke, and Sam Gibson via Cross-Collar Choke. Leon Larman submitted Tyrone Elliott via Bow and Arrow Choke, and both Adam Adshead and Sam Gibson via Collar Choke. Dinu Bucalet submitted Tyrone Elliott via Ezekiel Choke and Luca Anacoreta submitted Jamie Paxman via Reverse Triangle Choke. The superfight between Ashley Williams and Tom Halpin went the full fifteen minutes before Williams was declared the victor by decision, making him the first three-weight champion in Polaris history.

2021 in Polaris

Polaris 16: Squads 3

Background

Polaris 16: Squads 3 was an event that took place on August 7, 2021. This event saw a return to the competition being contested without the use of a gi, and will also be the first time that Team USA will appear, competing against Team UK & Ireland. Darragh O'Connail returned to serve as captain for Team UK & Ireland, while Geo and Richie Martinez took up positions as Co-Captains for Team USA. This event was also the first of the Polaris Squads events to feature preliminary matches as well as a superfight for the promotion's Heavyweight title, with the running order as follows:

Preliminary Matches

Jack Sear v Ciaran Brohan

Walli Abdullah v Ollie Bates

Libby Genge v Bryony Tyrell

Charlie Baker v Mason Guard

Superfight

Nastasa Silviu Georgian v Kyle Boehm

Team UK and Ireland

-75kg

Jed Hue

Ellis Younger

Ross Nicholls

Darragh O'Connaill

-95kg

Dan Strauss

Bradley Hill

Kieran Davern

Ben Dyson

Team USA

-75kg

Geo Martinez

Adam Benayoun

Nathan Orchard

Nick Ronan

-95kg

Roberto Jimenez

Jon 'Thor' Blank

Richie 'Boogieman' Martinez

Hunter Colvin

Results

After a total of twenty-seven matches, Team USA won the event 7–0. Three of the matches ended in a finish, with the remaining twenty-four being declared a draw. Nathan Orchard earned three points by submitting Kieran Davern with a modified twister, Roberto Jimenez earned a point by submitting Bradley Hill with a rear-naked choke, and Geo Martinez earned three points when Dan Strauss was injured during their match and could not continue. The superfight ended with Kyle Boehm submitting Nastasa Silviu Georgian with a belly-down heelhook in less than a minute to become the Polaris Heavyweight Champion.

Polaris 17

Background

For the first time since Polaris 12, the promotion returned to the superfight format with the event held October 9, 2021 in the Central Hall, Southampton, UK. Craig Jones defended his Polaris Middleweight title and Kendall Reusing capturing the Women's inaugural Polaris Openweight title.

Fight Card

Polaris 18

Background

Polaris 18 took place at ICC Wales on 27 November 2021.

Fight Card

2022 in Polaris

Polaris 19

Background

Polaris 19 is a professional grappling event that took take place on 26 March 2022, in Southampton, England.

Fight Card

Results

Polaris 20: Squads 4

Background

Polaris 20: Squads 4 is a professional grappling event that took take place on 25 June 2022, in Newport, Wales. This was the fourth edition of the Squads format that featured Team USA defending their status as champions against Team Brazil.

Superfight

Demian Maia v Benson Henderson

Team USA

-75kg

Geo Martinez

Keith Krikorian

Nathan Orchard

Nick Ronan

-95kg

Mason Fowler

Richie 'Boogieman' Martinez

Jon 'Thor' Blank

Hunter Colvin

Team Brazil

-75kg

Luiz Paulo

Fabricio Andrey

Marcelo Fausto

Diogo Reis

-95kg

Kywan Gracie

Igor Tanabe

Isaque Bahiense

Mica Galvao

Results

After a total of twenty-six matches, Team Brazil won the event 2-1. Three of the matches ended in a finish, with the remaining twenty-three being declared a draw. Mason Fowler submitted Kywan Gracie with an armbar to register the first point of the match, and the only point for Team USA. Mica Galvao then submitted Keith Krikorian with an armbar in order to bring the score to 1-1, before he submitted Krikorian once again with a triangle choke in order to take the score to 2-1. The superfight ended with Demian Maia defeating Benson Henderson by Decision.

Polaris 21: Grapple Island

Background

Polaris 21: Grapple Island was a grappling event held by Polaris Pro Grappling on September 24, 2022, at the end of the BJJ Summer Week in Cagliari, Sardinia. This marked the very first time that the promotion held an event outside of the UK.

Results

Polaris 22: Middleweight Grand Prix

Background

Polaris 22: Middleweight Grand Prix was a grappling event held by Polaris Pro Grappling on November 5, 2022. The event featured several superfights along with a middleweight grand prix that saw the winner crowned the new Middleweight world champion. Oliver Taza, Jed Hue, Mateusz Szczecinski, Roberto Jimenez, Hunter Colvin, Alan Sanchez, Owen Livesey, and Shane Fishman all competed in the tournament.

Fight Card

2023 in Polaris

Polaris 23: Women's Under 66kg Grand Prix

Background

Polaris 23 was announced in December, 2022, when the promotion confirmed that the event would feature a grand prix tournament in the women's 66 kg division. The main event was announced as Owen Livesey v Chris Weidman, and the tournament was scheduled to feature Ffion Davies, Maggie Grindatti, Giovanna Jara, Amy Campo, Brianna Ste-Marie, Julia Maele, and Elisabeth Clay. Jara missed weight by 0.9 kg prior to the event and she was allowed to compete, although she was not eligible to win the title in the event that she won. Elisabeth Clay won the tournament and was crowned the under 66 kg champion.

Fight card

Polaris 24

Background

Polaris 24 was a professional grappling event held by Polaris Pro Grappling on June 3, 2023. It was first announced in January 2023 and the promotion confirmed that a men's under 70 kg tournament would take place at the event. During the live broadcast of Polaris 23 the main event was revealed to be a lightweight title-fight between Ryan Hall and the reigning champion Ashley Williams. Both men withdrew from the event and the title was vacated, with Ethan Crelinsten and Nathan Orchard competing for the vacant belt in the co-main event instead. Jed Hue and Mateusz Szczecinski were also booked to compete for the vacant welterweight title in the main event. The men's tournament was postponed and there were a number of superfights booked for Polaris 24 instead.

Results

Polaris 25: Absolute Grand Prix

Background

Polaris announced that an absolute grand prix had been scheduled for their 25th event, with 8 men competing for a $30,000 grand prize. The promotion also scheduled a Contenders tournament on August 26, 2023 to determine the final entrant into the tournament. Marcin Maciulewicz won that tournament and became the final entrant.

Aljamain Sterling was originally booked to compete against Nathaniel Wood in the main event superfight. Wood withdrew from the match and was replaced by Mike Grundy instead.

Fight Card

Polaris 26: Jones v Meerschaert

Background

Polaris announced that Craig Jones will be competing against UFC middleweight veteran Gerald Meerschaert in the main event. They later confirmed that Kendall Reusing will be making her return to professional grappling after over a year away due to injury, and she will be defending her openweight title against Leticia Cardozo. Molly McCann is also scheduled to make her professional grappling debut against Julia Scardone.

Fight Card

2024 in Polaris

Polaris 27: Welterweight grand prix

Background

Polaris announced that Polaris 27 would feature a welterweight grand prix tournament with a grand prize of $20,000. Ashley Williams vacated the featherweight title so that Owen Jones and Gabriel Sousa could compete for it in the main event, although both men withdrew and were replaced by Keith Krikorian and Cameron Donnelly. Ffion Davies also defended her flyweight title against Brianna Ste-Marie, while UFC veterans Nathaniel Wood and Alex Caceres were booked to compete in a superfight.

Fight Card

Awards

In 2020, Polaris won "Promotion of the year" at the JitsMagazine BJJ Awards.

In 2023, Polaris won "Promotion of the year" at the JitsMagazine BJJ Awards.

See also

• Metamoris
• ADCC Submission Wrestling World Championship

References

External links

• Official website