On Saturday July 11th 2015 Submission Series Pro is holding their third event. The Conquest is the next installment in the ambitious Submission Only invitational that features well thought out “mismatches” encouraging both competitors in each match to be more aggressive thus yielding far more submissions than the even pairings in other similar events.
I had an opportunity to catch up with Edwin Najmi who is part of one of the most anticipated bouts (if not THE most anticipated bout) of the evening.
Najmi has been on a tear in competitive Jiu Jitsu, recently winning the IBJJF Worlds at the brown belt level (and receiving his well deserved black belt on the podium at the hands of none other than Romulo Barral.)
Najmi has experienced a meteoric rise, when asked about the secrets of his success he kept it simple “I ‘got good’ by just training hard every day, and believing in myself. I’ve been training for about 6 years now. The guys that have the biggest influences in my game are probably my professor, Romulo Barral. My wrestling coach, Jacob Harman and My good friend, Samuel Braga.” For anyone who doesn’t know 6 years is uncharacteristically short to go from white belt to black, but Najmi has proven himself on many stages.
He has become known for his penchant for impressive submission victories including flying submissions, I like many was curious about his thoughts on submission only, specifically the format which he will be competing under on Saturday night “I haven’t done too many other submission only tournaments, but I feel like the rules fit my game perfectly. I’m always going for the submission even when there are points so I’m looking forward to it.”
Very often in smaller tournaments, sub only also means no time limit, Edwin’s thoughts on this are interesting “I prefer submission only with a time limit because there’s no stalling and waiting. When there’s no time limit, competitors tend to strategize much more and try to conserve energy by not setting a high pace.” Mr. Najmi is not one to “not set a high pace”, expect an action packed match between him and his opponent Igor Mocaiber.
After Submission Series, fans will have to wait till September to see Edwin practice his art again “I don’t have anything else big planned out for the future yet. I’m going to take a couple months off until September to train and improve. I have 2 super fights in September. The first one is against Zach Adamson at Antaeus and another superfight against Quexinho at the Guatemala Open.”
As we’ve stressed before, the key difference between Submission Series Pro and other sub only invitationals is deliberate mismatching of competitors. In doing this the promotion encourages its competitors to push the pace. Edwin shared some of his thoughts on this concept “I think it’s cool, makes it definitely more exciting because both competitors go for the Kill. When it’s too evenly matched they play it safe and nothing exciting happens because they’re both scared to lose.”
Edwin Najmi’s thank you list is short and succinct “thank you all the fans and everyone that support me. It really means a lot.” We at Jiu Jitsu Times wish Edwin the best in all of his endeavors.
Fans of fast pace and crazy submissions should catch the replay of the event on Sunday, it will be available for FREE at http://www.submissionseriespro.ca/
Author:
Emil Fischer is an active blue belt competitor under Pablo Angel Castro III training with Strong Style Brasa and is sponsored by Pony Club Grappling Gear and Cruz Combat. For more information, other articles, and competition videos check out his athlete pages at www.facebook.com/emilfischerbjj www.twitter.com/Emil_Fischer and https://instagram.com/emilfischerbjj/
