Tucson’s first public combat jiujitsu tournament and Brazilian jiu-jitsu invitational, featuring professional and amateur grapplers from the Southwest and beyond, will be held Saturday at a local high school.
Bullpen Submission Series will showcase a four-man combat jiujitsu tournament, along with a 10-bout Brazilian jiu-jitsu fight card using submission-only rules at Catalina High School, 3645 E. Pima St. The event starts at 6 p.m.; tickets are $30 and can be purchased at nitrotickets.com.
Former UFC bantamweight and 10th Planet Jiu Jitsu Tucson owner Anthony Birchak is competing in the featherweight combat jiujitsu event. He’ll face two-time Combat Jiu-Jitsu Worlds champion Cody Owens. Also on the card, 2015 World Series of Fighting champ Andres Ponce will face Combate Global fighter Alex Gonzalez. The winners will battle each other for a $1,000 cash prize and the promotion’s CJJ championship belt.
Birchak describes combat jiujitsu as a cross between Brazilian jiu-jitsu and mixed martial arts because combatants are allowed to use palm strikes while grappling. He said he believes this style of fighting “helps keep the jiujitsu honest” for what it was intended for — self-defense.
“There’s a real big leg-lock scene going on right now. Your arms are not as strong as your legs and you have to commit two arms to control one of your opponent’s legs,” Birchak said. “If you’re committing two arms to a leg, then you’re not protecting your face, right?”
Birchak doesn’t take issue with points-based jiujitsu that is common in tournaments — he teaches it at his academy for students who practice the martial art for sport. However, he said he prefers combat jiujitsu because fighters have to focus more on their defensive strategy, instead of focusing on scoring points.
“Sport jiujitsu is just not the same as self-defense jiujitsu. If someone breaks into your home, you’re not going to take them down and pass their guard and be like ‘OK, my guy, I’m up five points and now you have to leave,’” Birchak said. “Combat jiujitsu makes people use jiujitsu for its primary operating function, which is self-defense.”
While Birchak is excited to compete in the tournament, he said he is equally thrilled to watch the Brazilian jiu-jitsu main event featuring 2019 Pan American Games bronze medalist and recent Bellator MMA signee Pat Downey against Phoenix’s Jimmy House, who won gold at the 2017 American Grappling Federation Phoenix Championships.
Former Pan American Games bronze medalist and recent Bellator MMA signee Pat Downey is also scheduled to fight Saturday.
House said he’s dreamed of facing Downey for years because he considers his opponent to be one of the best in the sport. The Phoenix fighter said he had a good six-week camp to prepare and that he feels confident in his abilities leading up to his match with Downey. While House typically has the wrestling advantage against most of his opponents, he said he knows that gameplan won’t work against the NCAA Division I All-American wrestler.
“With Pat having the wrestling pedigree that he does, I’ve had to add some different elements to my game over the last five or six weeks that I normally wouldn’t,” House said. “It has really helped me become more of a well-rounded jiujitsu competitor. I’m excited to have the opportunity to show the overall increase in my jiujitsu game.”
House said he is happy the event is using the Eddie Bravo Invitational ruleset — 10 minute rounds, submission-only rules, no points — because he believes it levels the playing field between Downey and himself. Eddie Bravo is the founder of the 10th Planet Jiu Jitsu style which introduced No-Gi jiujitsu; combatants wear a rash guard and shorts instead of a traditional gi while fighting.
“The ruleset makes it relatively nice for me because I could get thrown to the ceiling, but it doesn’t necessarily count for points or anything,” House said. “Worst case scenario is I get thrown. If the crowd enjoys it, then I’m happy to give them a show. But I’m going for the win in the end.”
Bullpen Submission Series started out in 2018 as a private event for select spectators at Birchak’s jiujitsu academy. Promoter Mercedes White said she chose to open the event to the public due to the overwhelming demand to see House take on Downey in the Brazilian jiu-jitsu main event.
White decided to hold Saturday’s event at Catalina to help the school’s wrestling program, which lost its coaching staff 48 hours before the 2021-22 season was scheduled to begin. She plans to donate a portion of the event’s profits to the school’s wrestling program to help support next season.
“There were so many requests for actual tickets that it became obvious I needed to host it somewhere else,” White said. “The reason I chose Catalina Magnet as the venue is to bring awareness to their wrestling program that has a lot of diversity in their kids. It broke my heart to know those kids would not have a wrestling season this year.”
