Kaynan Duarte has accomplished a lot in just over 21 years. The Atos athlete racked up a seriously impressive resume in his purple and brown belt years — including gi and no-gi world titles in both 2017 and 2018 — and since earning his black belt last year, his success and notoriety have only gone up. Tonight, he hopes to add another win to his record from atop the Fight 2 Win stage.
Duarte should be considered the underdog for many of the competitions he’s won. He’s been a black belt for less than a year and has gone up against far more seasoned competitors, after all. But recently, he’s made it clear that he doesn’t just deserve to be considered one of the big dogs — he is the big dog to beat. At Kasai 5, he submitted Craig Jones and then beat Tex Johnson via points to win the event. Then, at the UAEJJF World Pro, he won his highly anticipated match against Erberth Santos to earn his place in the final, where he submitted Adam Wardzinski.
Duarte was stopped short of gold at Brasileiros in the semifinals by Nicholas Meregali, but as he continues to excel in the sport, it’s likely to become a less and less frequent occurrence to see him having to settle for bronze. Tonight, though, the question on everyone’s mind is whether or not he can beat Tanner Rice in the main event of F2W 113.
Rice, who will be competing on the card along with his brother Sam, has defeated numerous formidable opponents during his seven years as a black belt, including Gregor Gracie and Lucas Barbosa. The 215-lb main event between him and Duarte gives both competitors some well-deserved time in the F2W spotlight, treating fans to a battle between a seasoned black belt competitor and one of jiu-jitsu’s hottest rising stars.
Watch Duarte vs. Rice, plus many other exciting matches when F2W 113 streams live on FloGrappling tonight from Reno, Nevada.
