CJI Australia-Asia Giles Trials Live Updates

The road to CJI 2 is beginning with the first official CJI trials happening in Australia, under the guidance and structure of Lachlan Giles, one of the best coaches and grapplers ever from the region. These trials will determine their team for the CJI Quintet event at -99kg and +99kg in a unique way. We will cover all the action live as it happens on the B-Team’s YouTube channel (free for everyone to watch). Everything kicks off Friday at 10pm EST (local Melbourne time, Saturday noon).

The Australia/Asia regional team already has three spots decided. The -66kg grappler will be someone from outside the region, fulfilling the one wildcard allotment they get, and the other two spots will go to CJI 1 originals who have had world-level success.

• -66kg: Fabricio Andrey (announced during the event)
• -77kg: Levi Jones-Leary
• -88kg: Lucas Kanard
• -99kg: Declan Moody (Trials winner)
• +99kg: Belal Etiabari (Trials winner)

There’s basically three stages to these trials;

1. A sixteen man mini-bracket with a single winner who advances to a
2. Six man round robin tournament, with points given and taken away based on submission wins (five men already have been chosen for this round)
3. Lachlan decides who the best options for -99kg and +99kg will be

Whoever gets most submissions at the event also wins $5,000 – as sponsored by instructional site SubMeta.

We’ll be updating this page through the day with all the most recent results and notable moments from the day. Most recent results at the top. Running blog at the top, full match by match results are at the bottom. 

Some rules to keep in mind:

1. Everything will be contested in a 3/4 CJI pit, with one side still open
2. 8 minute matches
3. All round robin matches without a submission are considered a draw
4. In the round robin, you earn points by winning by submission but you also lose points if you are submitted
5. Points are not publicly displayed for any round, so athletes focus on the submission

Live Blog

Most recent results at the top.

Round Five

So because of the way they are calculating things, if Declan taps out Belal then Kaya is on the team. If Belal taps Declan, he’s on the team. If they end in draw, it goes to the judges who will offer a winner between those two based on all five of their matches. Belal and Declan are out now. Belal pulls, false reap entry early. Declan clears and passes to north south, now he’s mounted. Belal playing cagey. Fights gonna end here. Lachlan and the team are calculating scores now based on judge’s notes throughout the event. It goes to Belal Etiabari by a very slim margin.

• Declan Moody vs Belal Etiabari ends in a draw

Kit Dale coming out for his ninth and final match of the day against Roberto Dib-Frias. Halfway through, not much happening. Last thirty seconds, Kit gets a takedown into a guillotine.

• Kit Dale vs Roberto Dib-Frias ends in a draw

Last matches for everyone here, team will be set after this. Kaya Rudolph and Alibi Orazbek. Kaya still has a shot at the team if he can pick up a submission. Kaya pulls and is inverting into legs. He laces in a bear trap and wrestles up but then Alibi wrestles his way right back on top. Closed guard. Kaya opens, in a scramble Alibi grabs an anaconda but Kaya clears. From guard, Kaya inverts again and ends up on top, Alibi stands, but Kaya pulls right into a false reap. Plenty of action here. Reverse closed guard for Kaya but Alibi scrambles through to 50/50. Nice inside heel hook attempt for Kaya but Alibi clears. Another one gets the tap!

• Kaya Rudolph def. Alibi Orazbek by inside heel hook

Round Four

Roberto Dib-Frias and Declan out for our final match of the round. If Declan submits him, he wins the round robin outright. Declan trying to work from the underhook, Frias not engaging with much offense in the first few minutes. Three and a half minutes left, Declan pulls and inverts to a leg entanglement. Declan pulls him into 50/50. Inside heel hook and the tap, Declan wins the round robin! He will be going to Vegas as part of Team Australia

• Declan Moody def. Roberto Dib-Frias by inside heel hook

Belal Etiabari takes on Kaya Rudolph here. Kaya has won this matchup before but under different rules. They also do know each other’s styles well from training together. Belal pulls and enters an arm entanglement but Kaya escapes into double unders. Now he stands and engages from that range as Belal pummels – now back in to the tight passing. He keeps switching up his ranges, looking for an opening against a dangerous guard. The match will end without a submission, Kaya has been eliminated.

• Kaya Rudolph and Belal Etiabiri ends in a draw

Kit Dale, in his eighth match of the day, kicks off round four against Alibi Orazbek. Halfway through the match, Alibi pulls. Kit knee slides his way to side control. Alibi escapes and stands. More wrestling. Round ends. Both men are mathematically eliminated from winning the round robin.

• Kit Dale vs Alibi Orazbek ends in a draw

Round Three

Kaya back out to face Roberto. He sits and inverts on legs, ending up in revrse closed guard. Roberto puts him in the same from top There’s about six and a half minutes left. With two minutes left they clear. Frias works for north south but can’t get anything going.

• Roberto Dib Frias vs Kaya Rudolph ends in a draw.

Declan up now against Kit Dale, certainly a cool generational clash for the region. Declan drives him to the wall and takes him down, then passes to mount. As Kit explodes up, Declan takes the back. Rear naked choke and Kit taps,

• Declan Moody def. Kit Dale by rear naked choke

Here’s round three, up first is Belal and Alibi. Belal pulls, he moves into a straight ankle lock and after about thirty seconds of cranking and adjusting on it, Alibi taps!

• Belal Etiabiri def. Alibi Orazbek by straight ankle lock

Round Two

Kit Dale and Kaya Rudolph out to finish up round two. Kaya pulls, we’re into closed guard. Dale trying a Sao Paulo pass, he’s all about staying low today. Kaya opens up his guard and Dale still using this sprawl-heavy system on top. It’s not the prettiest to watch but it is safe. Kit catches Kaya wrestling up and drives in a knee slide to pass to side control. Kaya explodes and escapes with a minute remaining, then pulls again.

• Kit Dale vs Kaya Rudolph ends in a draw

Belal Etiabari now out against Bob Frias. Belal pulls, he is looking for joint locks from open guard. Frias not engaging much. That’s about the summary of things.

• Belal Etiabari vs Roberto Dib Frias ends in a draw

A round down, still waiting on our first submission win. Alibi Orazbek and Declan Moody up first here. Wrestling for position, Declan scoots the elbow and is now on the back. He cinches up the neck and gets the tap.

• Declan Moody def. Alibi Orazbek by rear naked choke

Round One

Last match of the round, Kit Dale against Belal Etiabari. Belal sits immediately. They train together often. Kit keeping it low and slow here, trying to force his way to knee shield then pressure. Not much happening, probably the familiarity (and this is Dale’s fifth match already). Dale does pass very late, but no chance to finish.

• Kit Dale vs Belal Etiabari ends in a draw

Second match of round one. Declan taking on Kaya, this is actually the match I was looking forward to most in the round robin. Kaya has won this match before at a previous ADCC Trials. Wow – Declan steps around the guard almost immediately. Kaya has a really solid guard so that’s not nothing. Declan into north/south. Kaya finally able to reguard, Declan stands and passes again – he’s really good on top. Declan moving through solid pins like north-south and twister side control. Now into a heavy mount. Rudolph reguards again but that’s time.

• Declan Moody vs. Kaya Rudolph ends in a draw

We are back! First match up in this round robin style six man is Bob Frias vs Alibi Orazbek. Orazbek with the early takedown, Frias working from closed guard. Frias moves into the legs, there’s a controversial no-tap from Orazbek that causes some confusion and we end up in 50/50 and Bob gets on top. He jumps to the back but falls off. Orazbek ends up back on top in Frias’s guard and he drops to the legs. Frias scoots the back and falls off again. He gets a takedown against the wall and catches the back again on a stand up. He’s working on the neck but time expires. Close one.

• Roberto Dib-Frias vs. Alibi Orazbek ends in a draw

Mini-Tournament Finals

Looks like it is going to be Kit Dale and Uros Culic for the final spot in the round robin. Uros pulls early to hunt submissions. Kit trying to stay active and heavy here. He stacks and moves to leg drag but Uros pulls him into an entanglement, Kit clears. Kit passes to side control! Uros reguards. Late, they stand and Uros shoots but that’ll be time. Great job by the veteran Kit Dale.

• Kit Dale def. Uros Culic by decision

Mini-Tournament Semifinals

There will now be some super fight action before the semifinals. Kenta Iwamoto has had to withdraw, assumedly with the cut. I don’t know yet if Uros has advanced to the finals of the mini-tournament on a bye or they’ll get a replacement in there. Kit Dale and Anton Minenko up now. Both men committing to the wrestling. Some near takedowns but no man able to secure top position throughout the match. in the final twenty seconds, Dale is finally able to get his opponent down but is stuck in a guillotine. Time expires. Going to be a close decision.

• Kit Dale def. Anton Minenko by decision
• Uros Culic def. Kenta Iwamoto by walkover (injury)

Mini-Tournament Quarterfinals

Last quarter here, Kit Dale back out and he’s taking on Matthew Oxenham. Oxenham nearly takes down Dale but Kit reverses to top, then they scramble to top. Few more minutes of wrestling, now Kit drags his way to a deep takedown. Now he passes and mounts. Kit continues passing and mounting as Matthew reguards and escapes. Finally he grips and hits a kimura for a finishing touch.

• Kit Dale def. Matthew Oxenham by kimura

Anton Minenko is out to take on Tommy David. Tommy pulls, Anton jumps over the top and transitions rapidly to the back. He’s looked great so far. On an escape attempt, he gets an arm around the neck and uses a big squeeze to elicit the tap without hooks in. Powerful.

• Anton Minenko def. Thomas David by rear naked choke

Siraj Soufi is now taking on Kenta Iwamoto. Siraj pulls. On some guard play, Kenta catches a hit to the mouth and they need to stop and fix the bleeding. We’re back. They stand again and Kenta pulls. Another blood stoppage, looks like it’s on his chin. We’re back, now Kenta uses an inversion to get into the legs, he goes belly down on a straight ankle then when they roll back to belly up he gets a big tap. Brutal finish. Kenta needs to figure out that cut before it gets worse.

• Kenta Iwamoto def. Siraj Soufi by straight ankle lock

Tito Carle and Uros Culic will be our first match here in the quarters. They’ve had about an hour of rest. Tito is aggressive early and scores the takedown with a knee pick type of move. Tito manages to pass and Uros stands, Tito puts him back down. With time dwindling, Uros wrestles his way up and gets to turtle. He has to jump to the back, but he loses it. Tito reverses his way back to top. They go the distance, not sure which way it’ll go.

• Uros Culic def. Tito Carle by decision

Mini-Tournament Round 1

Kit Dale out for the last of the round of 16 matches, taking on Josh Schofield. Josh pulls, Kit being super heavy from the top of half guard. He passes, he takes the back. Josh escapes, Kit passes again. Kit adds one more cartwheel pass at the end to put a stamp on his victory in round one.

• Kit Dale def. Josh Schofield by decision

Matthew Oxenham out to take out Alex Hungahunga. Wow, Alex is enormous, 151kg/330lbs. Surprisingly, he pulls into the legs quick and sweeps up to top but Matthew escapes. On another pull, Matthew starts passing and nearly takes the back, now again he’s got another look at the back. He’s in a high ball ride, this is crazy considering the size disparity. He sinks it in and secures the tap! Upset, impressive.

• Matthew Oxenham def. Alex Hungahunga by rear naked choke

Adnan Larry taking on Tommy “Gun” David now. Adnan gets the takedown early and is parking himself on top in closed guard. Tommy trying some to open up but not much success. Not much really happened here.

• Thomas David def. Larry Adnan by decision

Josh Shipton taking on Anton Minenko. Both guys pushing early. BIg uchi mata for Shipton, Minenko transitions into the choi bar then the full armbar and gets the tap! That was the quickest match yet, nice advantage for later rounds.

• Anton Minenko def. Josh Shipton by armbar

Kenta is out now against Duke Didier. Kenta is comically smaller, but also much more technically acclaimed than much of this field. Kenta goes for the takedown, Duke reverses to get on top. Kenta does manage to get out using the wall, now he stays aggressive and uses a body lock and the pit to drag down Duke. He does manage to find the back now! He secures a choke across the face and gets the tap. Super scrappy.

• Kenta Iwamoto def. Duke Didier by rear naked choke

Suraj Soufi out to take on Harry Grech. Siraj pulls. Eventually after a lot of non-action he stands, pulls again, then sweeps to top. That will be the deciding moment of the match, Siraj wins. Not much happened, not Siraj’s fault.

• Siraj Soufi def. Harry Grech by decision

Harrison Everett, who was originally an alternate, is taking on transplanted Serbian Uros Culic. Uros was able to get the takedown and eventually secures what looks like a Ruotolotine, but may have just been a really tight arm triangle.

• Uros Culic def. Harrison Everett by arm triangle

Our first match is up, Tito Carle taking on Harry Cassar. Solid scrap both ways but time will end and we go to the judge’s table. Interestingly, in an effort to keep people focused on submissions, the scores are not public and only being tallied privately by the judges. Tito Carle will take the decision and advance to the quarters.

• Tito Carle def. Harry Cassar by decision

We are off with the first Trials of its kind, the Giles Trials, from Melbourne, Australia. Ceremonies begin with a minute of silence for Luke Marko, 21, who was a rising Australian grappler who tragically recently passed away in a car accident heading home from training.

CJI Giles Trials Results

6-Man Round Robin Tournament

• Round One
  • Roberto Dib-Frias vs Alibi Orazbek ended in a draw
  • Declan Moody vs Kaya Rudolph ended in a draw
  • Kit Dale vs Belal Etiabari ended in a draw
• Round Two
  • Declan Moody def. Alibi Orazbek by rear naked choke
  • Belal Etiabari vs Roberto Dib-Frias ended in a draw
  • Kit Dale vs Kaya Rudolph ended in a draw
• Round Three
  • Belal Etiabiri def. Alibi Orazbek by straight ankle lock
  • Declan Moody def. Kit Dale by rear naked choke
  • Roberto Dib-Frias vs Kaya Rudolph ended in a draw
• Round Four
  • Kit Dale vs Alibi Orazbek ended in a draw
  • Belal Etiabiri vs Kaya Rudolph ended in a draw
  • Declan Moody def. Roberto Dib-Frias by inside heel hook
• Round Five
  • Kaya Rudolph def. Alibi Orazbek by inside heel hook
  • Kit Dale vs Roberto Dib-Frias ended in a draw
  • Declan Moody vs Belal Etiabari ended in a draw

16-Man Elimination Mini-Tournament

• Round One
  • Tito Carle def. Harry Cassar by decision
  • Uros Culic def. Harrison Everett by arm triangle
  • Siraj Soufi def. Harry Grech by decision
  • Kenta Iwamoto def. Duke Didier by rear naked choke
  • Anton Minenko def. Josh Shipton by armbar
  • Thomas David def. Larry Adnan by decision
  • Matthew Oxenham def. Alex Hungahunga by rear naked choke
  • Kit Dale def. Josh Schofield by decision
• Quarterfinals
  • Uros Culic def. Tito Carle by decision
  • Kenta Iwamoto def. Siraj Soufi by straight ankle lock
  • Anton Minenko def. Thomas David by rear naked choke
  • Kit Dale def. Matthew Oxenham by kimura
• Semifinals
  • Uros Culic def. Kenta Iwamoto by walkover (injury)
  • Kit Dale def. Anton Minenko by decision
• Finals
  • Kit Dale def. Uros Culic by decision

Six Man Round Robin Tournament Scores

• Declan Moody
• Roberto Dib-Frias
• Alibi Orazbek (-3 points)
• Kaya Rudolph (1 point)
• Belal Etaibari
• Kit Dale, 16-man bracket winner

CJI Giles Trials Live Stream

You can of course watch this live & free on YouTube, we will include the stream below for anyone who wants an easy way to find it.

Submission Count

We’ll be keeping a running list of whoever scores the most submissions and wins the $5000 bonus.

• Declan Moody – 3
• Anton Minenko – 2
• Kenta Iwamoto – 2
• Belal Etiarbiri – 1
• Kaya Rudolph – 1
• Kit Dale – 1
• Matthew Oxenham – 1
• Uros Culic – 1

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