This past weekend saw Houston as the epicenter of all things MMA this past weekend with UFC 136 taking place at the Toyota Center. Obviously, the allure of a PPV UFC card is strong enough but the Las Vegas-based promotion pulled out all the stops for their second visit to H-Town this included a UFC Fan Expo. As has been the case with over fan expos thrown by the UFC, one of the highlights of the convention is the prestigious Grapplers Quest grappling tournament. This weekend was no exception as a pair of North Texas’ most accomplished grapplers traveled down I-45 to represent the DFW Metroplex in a pair of promoted super fights.
Friday’s headlining super fighter pitted Dallas’ Wesley Gann (Nova Uniao) against Justin Rader (Team Lovato) out of Oklahoma. Unfortunately, just like in Saturday’s Texas-OU Red River Rivalry game, the Texan came up short as Rader was able to secure the victory with a leg lock.
North Texas sough redemption on Saturday as Octagon MMA BJJ instructor Bruno Bastos (Nova Uniao) took on Rafael Lovato (Team Lovato). Bastos, fresh off a respectable performance at ADCC, was cautious in his approach and that may have cost him as a 2-point award to Lovato for stalling may have swung the match in Lovato’s favor. Needless to say, when two grapplers of this caliber mix it up the littlest point can make all the difference. Unfortunately, for Bastos it was Lovato who walked away with the victory.
Special props to TXMMA.com for the info.
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