Submission Underground 21 is scheduled for the end of the month and the promotion has just revealed the lineup for the event, where both of the SUG titles will be on the line. This represents only the second time this has ever happened, as the Female Absolute title was only introduced at SUG 19 where Amanda Loewen emerged victorious to claim the vacant title over Felicia Spencer. This time, Loewen will be defending her hard-earned title against a fellow MMA fighter and veteran of the professional grappling circuit, Roxanne Modafferi.
Then of course, the event will be headlined by Mason Fowler defending his title for the fifth time just a week before he makes a trip over to Third Coast Grappling to compete in their grand prix. The challenger is none other than 10th Planet’s own Richie “Boogieman” Martinez and considering the fact that SUG persist with short round-times and the use of EBI overtime, he could represent a difficult challenge for Fowler to overcome under this ruleset. The event will also continue the theme that SUG has become known for by bringing in a number of high-profile MMA stars to compete for the promotion.
Ex-Bellator Flyweight World Champion Ilima-Lei Macfarlane will be making her first competitive appearance since losing her title to undefeated Judoka Juliana Velasquez back at Bellator 254. She will face off against UFC veteran Jessica Eye in her first professional grappling match, one that she seems likely to win in the end. They will also be joined by the return of Olympic Judoka Satoshi Ishii, who will be taking on fellow SUG veteran Andy Varela.
Finally, SUG has also found a pair of competitors to take on Ricky Simon and John Simon as the promotion gives the fans the return of Tag-Team Jiu-Jitsu. The Team ATT representatives will be taking on a much lesser-known pair of grapplers flying the flag of Team GFC. Amateur MMA fighter Willie Audifre will be joined by BJJ black belt and instructor of Impact Jiu-Jitsu in Arizona Mike Currier, as they take on the UFC and SUG veteran partnership.
The full Submission Underground 21 event will be available to watch live on March 28th on UFC FightPass, click here to subscribe and watch.
