Former US Marine Eric Medina has stayed true to his code in his pursuit of greatness at the No-Gi World championships, with the Jean Jacques Machado brown belt putting on a series of impressive performances that saw him throwing the common concepts of points and stalling in the trash. Instead, Medina focussed on the total domination of his opponents by unleashing a maelstrom of attacks that were seemingly never-ending, even when he was safely up on points.
Rarely will jiu-jitsu fans see this style of play during an IBJJF-sanctioned tournament, where athletes will instead normally focus on locking down points and consolidating their leads instead of going for submission victories. Medina’s play style allows him to be a formidable matchup for anyone facing him, as well as allowing him to be harder to game plan for and to read in the heat of combat.
Medina has become well known online for the Darce choke, which has become his bread and butter, so much so that his nickname “Darce Knight” is incredibly well deserved. Medina managed to cinch up a beautiful choke over the weekend at the Worlds that contributed to him taking home a very well-deserved silver medal.
Medina took on James Harnish, a brown belt out of Gracie Barra Truro, Nova Scotia, under black belt Chris Hughes.
The match began with the two competitors quickly engaging, with Medina forcing a scramble that saw him threaten a guillotine choke on his opponent.
The match would then be reset in the middle of the match after the two men landed out of bounds with Medina in Harnish’s guard.
Harnish would threaten a transition to the triangle, pulling down on Medina’s head to break his posture, but the Darce Knight drove forward, nullifying his opponent’s attack.
After working to pass Harnish’s guard, Medina would work his way to three-quarter mount in an extremely smooth fashion.
Unfortunately for Medina, his opponent was able to elevate his hips and regain half guard and then attempt a sweep.
Harnish would then use a butterfly guard setup and dela riva guard in order to try and keep Medina at bay.
Harnish would then attack with a toe hold attempt, before rolling out of bounds and forcing a reset.
The reset would see Harnish trying to remain aggressive, attacking with an inside reap takedown. Medina would once again end up being swept from half guard by Harnish, who then attempted to pass Medina’s full guard as he scooted across the mats.
Medina would constantly threaten with attacks off his back, at one point searching for an armbar as Harnish tried to push forward.
The two would soon be on their feet once more, with Medina then hitting a glorious takedown of his own.
Medina would finally find a home for the choke he’d been searching for the entire fight, sinking his arms around Harnish’s neck and applying a squeeze from mount that quickly resulted in Harnish tapping out.
An absolutely fantastic performance by a scrappy young martial artist who leaves points and advantages behind in favour of wicked submission attempts and fast-paced action.
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