The third and final round of the Onnit Invitational 4 was easily the most heart-pounding, with thrilling matches in both the superfights and tournament finals.
Brandi Saunders and Cora Sek were young warriors in their bout, which featured a lot of back-and-forth action and a few near-finishes from both competitors. In the end, Saunders won in overtime after escaping the fastest.
The second superfight, featuring Jose Llanas and Will Durkee, was also unpredictable. Both competitors came very close to finishing the match in regulation, with Llanas escaping an extremely tight d’arce choke that would have finished off most opponents. After getting the fastest escape in overtime, Llanas emerged victorious.
Tom Lawlor didn’t need any overtime to finish off Fabio Prado — he submitted him with a brutal neck crank in regulation to conclude a patient, technical match between two very tough athletes.
In the 205-lb final, Kyle Boehm spent much of the match playing guard against his opponent, Patrick Miller. After both athletes briefly got to their feet, Boehm was able to attach Miller’s legs and submit him with a toe hold with 6:23 left, making him the division champion.
The final match of the evening was the 135-lb final between Renzo Gracie teammates Jon Calestine and Ethan Crelinsten. Both opponents spent a significant amount of time on their feet before dropping to the ground and attempting leg attacks. Despite a few close calls, including a solid kneebar attempt from Crelinsten, the match went into overtime. Although neither grappler was able to submit the other in any of the three rounds, Calestine was able to escape faster in all three rounds and was declared the victor.
“The key to victory to me was just to stay focused. I didn’t want the match to go into overtime, but I knew I needed a plan if it did,” said Calestine. “It was hard to go up against my teammate. We both know each other really well, know each other’s games really well, but we went in there and did what had to be done.”
Superfights Round 3
Brandi Saunders defeats Cora Sek in round one of overtime.
Jose Llanas defeats Will Durkee in round one of overtime.
Tom Lawlor defeats Fabio Prado with a neck crank.
205-lb Tournament Round 3
Kyle Boehm defeats Patrick Miller with a toe hold.
135-lb Tournament Round 3
Jon Calestine defeats Ethan Crelinsten in round three of overtime.
