It’s no great surprise that the black belt world champions on the 3rd Coast Grappling: Kumite card ended up facing each other in the semifinals. Following a win against Jake Watson in round one, Gabriel Arges went head to head against Gustavo Batista, who defeated Jaime Canuto in the first round.
Arges worked below Batista, first working for deep half guard and then 50/50, but Batista was able to maintain great top pressure and prevent Arges from destabilizing him as he got to his feet. Batista continued to work heavy pressure on Arges, while Arges stayed comfortable on the bottom. Arges managed to trap one of Batista’s legs in half-guard, then underhooked a leg as Batista stood up and searched for a sweep opportunity. However, Batista was able to use his pressure to get past the legs and finally secured pass points with just over a minute left in the match. Batista stayed active, moving to north-south and getting mount just before regulation ended.
The matched moved into overtime with Batista starting in Arges’ closed guard. Arges again underhooked the leg as Batista stood up. Arges managed to power up to his own feet while controlling Batista’s leg, and for a moment it looked like he might get the takedown, but the two went out of bounds and were reset in a neutral standing position in the center. The two resumed their now-familiar routine of pass vs. retain, with Arges again on the bottom, and Batista managed to pass the guard to win the match.
Batista will move on to the finals against Roberto Jimenez for the $10,000 prize.
