Dan Manasoiu has just become the latest elite grappler to join Team Modolfo for the semi-final of the AIGA Champions League at the end of 2023. ADCC head organizer Mo Jassim put together the team and he really pulled out all of the stops in order to attract some of the best grapplers on the planet. Team Modolfo was one of the early favorites thanks to the incredible lineup, and they made good on that initial promise too. They had some tough opposition in their first appearance in the quarter-final, but they emerged victorious and qualified for the next round.
It appears as though Jassim has wanted to make a few changes to the lineup despite their success, as he’s drafted in several new competitors to join Team Modolfo even before Dan Manasoiu. The first new additions to Team Modolfo have all been in the lighter weight classes, with Mica Galvao leading the way as the most accomplished among them. He was joined by Kaua Gabriel and Felipe Machado, although it wasn’t confirmed which weight classes they’d be competing in and who they would be replacing.
It’s a lot more obvious where Manasoiu will be competing though of course, as the New Wave Jiu-Jitsu competitor is limited by his natural size. He could only possibly be representing Team Modolfo in the over 91kg division, which means that he’s replacing either Luke Griffith or John Hansen in the lineup. Gordon Ryan revealed that he was interested in joining Team Modolfo, so it’s possible that Manasoiu might not be the only member of New Wave Jiu-Jitsu to join the lineup ready for the semi-final.
AIGA announced the news that Dan Manasoiu is joining Team Modolfo for the upcoming semi-final of the AIGA Champions League in a recent post to their official Instagram account:
