Former UFC title contender Chael Sonnen has partnered with FloSports to provide a grappling platform for whoever thinks they could be the greatest alive, to come out and prove it. The July 17, 2016 event will be streamed live on FloCombat.com.
In a statement, Sonnen had this to say about his new promotion:
“The mantra is: How do we figure out who the greatest alive is? …We’re going to bring in all the smoke and mirrors and the great production. After that, we’re going to let whoever wants to be a part of this, whoever thinks they could be the greatest alive, to come out and prove it. We’re not going to lobby people to participate, and it won’t be invite only. We’re simply creating the environment.”
Rules for the Submission Underground event will model after the Eddie Bravo Invitational. An 8 minute submission only round followed by 3 overtime rounds if necessary. The winner of a coin flip will determine who will start first in overtime and choose which position to start from; take the back or ‘Spiderweb’ position.
To win in overtime, a competitor must submit his opposition during his opportunity at the dominant position without being submitted when his opponent has their turn from the favorable position. If both or neither practitioners achieve the submission inside of 3 OT rounds, then the victory will be awarded to the person with the quickest escape time.
To add an extra variable to the equation, a cage will be utilized instead of the standard grappling mat used by most Jiu-Jitsu competitions.
In the main event, MMA grappling guru Jake Shields will be taking on former UFC champion and new Bellator contender Benson Henderson. Other recognizable names have been added to the inaugural Submission Underground event that should draw quite a bit of attention. Here is the scheduled line up thus far:
Jake Shields vs. Benson Henderson
King Mo Lawal vs. Vinny Magalhaes
Kenny Florian vs. Filipe Braga Costa
Ricco Rodriguez vs. Fabiano Scherner
Jens Pulver vs. Nathan Orchard
Twitter: @TheEddieMercado
This is going to be interesting, I like it alot.