The Tackett brothers — William and Andrew — are two of jiu-jitsu’s most promising up-and-coming stars. In fact, 3rd Coast Grappling promotor Ryan McGuire is so confident in Andrew’s abilities that he’s putting up a challenge that’s sure to raise some eyebrows at 3CG IV, set to go down this weekend.
The aptly named “Andrew Tackett Challenge” will see three competitors (all of whom are ranked higher than Tackett, a blue belt) go up against the teenage phenom for what is, on paper, a simple task: submit Tackett, take home $1,500. The challenge will be formatted as three five-minute rounds (one round per challenger) with one minute of rest in between rounds. Best of all, each challenger has a chance to win the money, so if the first challenger pulls off a submission, Tackett will keep going until each opponent has had the opportunity to earn 1/3 of the available $4,500.
The competitors who have risen to the challenge are Jerry Rodriguez, Yadier de Valle, and Curry Gaut. Going up against a purple belt and two brown belts may seem a bit preposterous for a young blue belt, but then, Tackett is no ordinary blue belt. He’s a regular competitor in both IBJJF tournaments and sub-only invitationals alike, regularly taking home gold (or double gold) and cash every time he steps onto the mats to compete. He was the runner-up at Worlds last year and has won gold in the absolute division at Pans, and now, he’ll also be looking to add another three big wins to his resume following 3CG IV.
3CG IV will take place in Houston this Saturday, March 14, and can be streamed live on FloGrappling.
