COMBAT SPORTS
WNO 24: The Least You Should Know
_{How to watch and–more importantly–who to watch this week in Austin.}

When first announced in May, the 24th edition of FloGrappling’s Who’s Number One had all the ingredients of an ADCC 2024 preview.

Now, with many ADCC athletes jumping ship for Craig Jones’ new competing promotion, the Craig Jones Invitational (CJI), the WNO 24 lineup is less of a forecast for ADCC than it had been a mere few weeks ago. 

Even so, the grappling on WNO 24 this Thursday is bound to be top notch, pitting the best against the best ahead of not one but two heavy-hitting submission grappling tournaments later this summer. 

Read on for the least you should know about the biggest superfight show of the summer so far. 

Who’s Fighting on WNO 24

On the WNO 24 Main Card

• Heavyweight Championship - Gordon Ryan vs Josh Saunders

• Featherweight Championship - Diego Pato vs Fabricio Andrey

• Middleweight Championship - Jacob Couch vs Jonnatas Gracie

• Heavyweight Bout - Victor Hugo vs Javier Zaruski

• Middleweight Bout - Tainan Dalpra vs Jay Rodriguez

• Flyweight Bout - Ana Rodrigues vs Adele Fornarino

• Welterweight Bout - Elijah Dorsey vs Jozef Chen

• Lightweight Bout - Ethan Crelinsten vs Deandre Corbe

On the WNO 24 Prelims

• Heavyweight Bout - Felipe Costa vs Declan Moody

• Flyweight Bout - Lauren Sears vs Taylor Hishaw

• Lightweight Bout - Andrew DeGraff vs Jordan Holy

• Flyweight Bout - Ally Wolski vs Nathalia Santoro

The Least You Should Know About WNO 24

Heavyweight Championship - Gordon Ryan vs Josh Saunders

Props to ADCC-bound Saunders for taking the matchup against Ryan: Saunders has nothing to lose, and the match will immediately give him a taste of what to expect from the reigning champ of +99kg later this summer. 

Though he’s new to the WNO stage, Saunders isn’t new to rolling with the big boys at the highest level. A two-time ADCC Trials winner hailing from Australia, Saunders made his ADCC debut in 2022, where he performed formidably against Gordon’s longtime rival, Felipe Pena in the opening round. 

Saunders was undeniable in the latest run that allowed him to qualify for ADCC: he manhandled the competition at the 2023 Asia and Oceania Trials, devastating his opponents with heavy mat returns and clean back attacks. 

While he’s unlikely to inflict the same damage on Gordon, Saunders shouldn’t be underestimated. As a wise man once said, “If you come at the king, you best not miss,” and Saunders–a rugby player and powerlifter in a not-too-distant past life–has come a long way from training jiu-jitsu in a garage four years ago to finding himself on the biggest stages in the sport against the top dog in the game. 

If Saunders plays his game right, he can take a decent shot at Ryan, who seems to be riddled with GI issues and hasn’t faced a real threat to his dominance since Nicky Rod nearly broke his foot in UFC Fight Pass 3 in 2023. 

Assuming he doesn’t pull out on short notice, Ryan will use this match against Saunders to shut up the haters, sell more instructionals, and show that “The King” has never left the castle. 

Featherweight Championship - Diego “Pato” Oliveira vs Fabricio Andrey

Pato just clinched his third World title a few weeks ago, and seeks to defend his WNO title against a worthy opponent in Andrey. 

Andrey’s no gi game has been looking exceptionally ferocious in 2024, with a savage run of upper-body submissions in his AIGA Brasil run last month and, back in March, an ADCC Trials run where he was in peak form, winning five of his six matches by submission. 

Andrey is the heavier and more dynamic grappler, but Pato is on a tear lately, and has had proven success in lower-body attacks on the WNO stage: Pato injured Diogo Reis on a leg attack in WNO 21, and heel hooked Dante Leon in WNO 22. All signs point to Pato looking to go after Andrey’s legs as a key part of his path to victory.

Pato is 1-2 against Andrey in the gi, last facing off at The Crown in 2023, where Pato took the ‘W’ by one advantage. This will be their first face-off at black belt sem kimono and it remains to be seen if Pato’s more measured style can truly slow down and endanger “Hokage.”

Middleweight Championship - Jacob Couch vs Jonnatas Gracie

“The Hillbilly Hammer” has been fairly quiet since triumphing at the ADCC East Coast Trials, and it’s a delight to see him back onstage. The last we saw of Couch was his dominant heel hook against Sebastian Rodriguez at WNO 22 earlier this year. 

Jonnatas Gracie fills in for Francisco Lo on short notice and is a welcome replacement. Gracie’s increasing transition into No Gi competition via UFC Fight Pass Invitationals, ADXC, and previous editions of WNO have made him an intriguing watch. He’s beaten Nicky Ryan, Jay Rod, and Oliver Taza and a win over Couch would be a feather in his cap ahead of his ADCC debut in August. 

Couch remains the favorite for this matchup, however: Gracie typically competes at -77kg and Couch at -88kg in ADCC rulesets, making Gracie the naturally-lighter grappler in this matchup by over 10kg. Couch’s triangles and aggressive leg attacks coupled with the extra weight will put Gracie under pressure to outpace or out-technique Couch.  

Heavyweight Bout - Victor Hugo vs Javier Zaruski

New Wave’s Luke Griffith had to pull out of this matchup against Hugo due to injury, and it’s a shame. After Griffith’s tremendous submission win against Kaynan Duarte at UFC Fight Pass in May, Hugo would be an intriguing test for the Danaher protege.  

Fans should wonder, however: why Griffith vs Hugo and not Meregali vs Hugo? Missed opportunity to have a rubber match between Meregali and the only fighter who gives Meregali a fight. 

Instead, “Big Man Flow,” as teammates call Hugo’s style, will be on full display against Javier Zaruski. Zaruksi, a serious underdog recently invited to ADCC at -99kg has a lot to prove, especially after trash talk against the likes of Nicholas Meregali. 

Zaurski will be playing checkers. Hugo will be playing chess. 

Middleweight Bout - Tainan Dalpra vs Jay Rodriguez

Jay Rod is an exciting, scrappy fighter and he’s come a long way from his buggy choke days circa 2022, but Jay Rod has never faced a technician like Dalpra. Even if Dalpra’s experience remains biased towards the gi, his odds against Jay Rod are good once Tainan gets his pressure and precision going in this match. 

Tainan takes the ‘W’ and uses it to keep climbing the no gi rankings on WNO, with a match-up against one of the Tackett Brothers being a logical next step. 

Another great follow-up matchup for Tainan? Francisco Lo. Let Tainan run back his Worlds 2024 DQ against Lo–with interest and without penalties for reaping–on the WNO stage. 

Flyweight Bout - Ana Rodrigues vs Adele Fornarino

Similar to Pato and Andre, Rodrigues and Fornarino have faced before but never in a no-gi context at Black Belt.

Rodrigues has gotten the better of Fornarino in previous matchups, all of which are in the gi: in the Purple Belt semifinals of Worlds 2018, Rodrigues choked out Fornarino, and in the Brown Belt finals of Pans 2019, Rodrigues beat Fornarino 6-2.

It’s been five years since the two last squared off, years that Ana has spent sitting pretty–and consistently–at the top of the 125 lb division–with two World titles to her name and a 2022 No Gi Pan title that proved her chops outside of the gi. 

While Adele hasn’t reached Ana’s heights yet, her star has risen steadily over the last few years: Fornarino qualified twice for ADCC, has a 100% submission rate over three editions of ADCC Trials, and, at the time, tied with Nicky Ryan for with the fastest sub in WNO history with an aoki lock over Amanda “Tubby” Alequin in 23 seconds. The fastest submission record has since been broken by Achilles Rocha with his 16-second armbar over Cameron Couch, but Fornarino’s record of fastest sub remains untouched among the women. 

Rodrigues has never been submitted as a black belt, and it’s unlikely that her WNO debut will see her get tapped out by Fornarino. But will Fornarino try to make it happen, proving to Ana–and to herself–that she’s a better and more dangerous grappler than she was half a decade ago? Absolutely. 

Welterweight Bout - Elijah Dorsey vs Jozef Chen

Chen jumped ship from ADCC to CJI, making what would have been a possible -77kg matchup at ADCC become a sure thing on WNO.

Jozef Chen’s ADCC European Trials run in late 2023 remains a head-turning one, with wins over Mateusz Szczecinski, Tommy Langaker, and Oliver Taza to reach the top of the podium. 

Dorsey had a similarly impressive run at East Coast Trials in 2023, concluding with wins over Oliver Taza and Nicky Ryan. Now “Big Breakfast” hopes to turn Chen into his next meal. 

This will be both athletes’ second time on the WNO stage. Chen’s last showing on WNO was against Derek Reyfield, whom he defeated by Z-Lock. Dorsey’s victory over Ivan Herrera came by shoulder lock. 

This match will be a technical brawl among two grapplers who are living up to their promise and. Watch it closely. 

Lightweight Bout - Ethan Crelinsten vs Deandre Corbe

Deandre Corbe fills in for Cole Abate on short notice, and it’s a worthy substitution. Deandre and his brother, Gavin, are among the most compelling grapplers at the lighter weight classes and have been criminally underrated until the last few years. Deandre will be carrying the Eco approach flag into this match. Depending on the outcome, be prepared for people on the internet who don’t know anything about jiu-jitsu to either champion or disavow the Eco posse.

Most recently, Corbe had to submit his brother Gavin–cold–on the road to the finals at West Coast Trials, where he defeated returning trials champion Keith Krikorian. 

Crelinsten has been a standby on the no gi scene since 2017. A frequent face on WNO, Ethan is likely looking to improve on his last performance–loss by RNC to Dante Leon–by taking down the hotshot rookie in Deandre. WNO 24 will be Corbe’s WNO debut. 

Expect this matchup to be filled with fast-paced, technical, relentless submission-hunting.