Pit Submission Series 5 took place on May 30th, 2024 and the elite grapplers competing at the event delivered some fantastic results against UFC veterans. It was a great night of high-level action and fans got to see even more glimpses of the famous pit wall being used to set up transitions. There was 3 great matches booked for the event and each one delivered entertainment in different ways, with the famous pit wall being used to great effect several times. Competitors used it to assist their escape attempts, make takedowns easier, and provide the opportunity for high-amplitude guard passes.
Young prospect Helena Crevar came out first against UFC flyweight veteran Mariya Agapova. Crevar pulled guard immediately but before she could get to work with anything of her own, Agapova sat back for a straight ankle-lock. Crevar countered with an ankle-lock of her own and took top position when Agapova bailed in order to escape. She sat back to enter a leg entanglement of her own and she exposed Agapova’s heel when she tried to escape again, forcing her to tap straight away and getting the submission win after just 30 seconds of action.
Next up was a match between top grapplers AJ Agazarm and Lucas ‘Hulk’ Barbosa, with both men making their promotional debut against one another. They battled it out in the clinch for over a minute before Barbosa shot in to score a quick double-leg and although Agazarm attempted a kimura, Barbosa trapped his arm and used his legs to control his hips. Agazarm kept creating space and eventually got to open guard, but Barbosa immediately started using his heavy passing game and worked his way into mount, isolating one of Agazarm’s arms in the process.
Barbosa steadily wore Agazarm down for a while before attacking with an arm-triangle choke, squeezing for the finish while Agazarm worked to stay safe in the choke. Agazarm managed to escape but Barbosa capitalized on the movement and took his back, locking up the body triangle to control him. Agazarm continued working to escape and he did manage to get his back to the mat, but Barbosa switched back to the arm-triangle choke and quickly transitioned to a mounted triangle choke too.
Barbosa tried to finish and switched to an armbar as Agazarm found his way to top position, but Agazarm escaped yet again and managed to get all the way back to open guard in the ensuing scramble. Barbosa then used the pit wall to hit a beautiful cartwheel pass, transitioning straight to Agazarm’s back when he tried to turn to face him. Barbosa picked up the pace and managed to get into position for an armbar, but Agazarm was able to hold on to his grips and stay safe until the time ran out. Barbosa was declared the winner by decision after several submission attempts and plenty of positional dominance throughout.
The main event saw another UFC veteran, Jordan Leavitt, facing Ethan Crelinsten and both men were happy to fight it out on the feet. Crelinsten pushed Leavitt up the pit wall and then hit a slick ankle-pick while his opponent was above him, dragging him back down to the mat. Crelinsten’s passing was perfect from there and it didn’t take him long at all to get to mount. Leavitt was using the wall to kick off and escape but Crelinsten was controlling him well at first, until Leavitt was able to create enough space and wrestle back up to standing. Leavitt shot in for a double-leg and drove Crelinsten into the wall, but he was able to scramble well and get to top position.
Another few seconds of beautiful passing and Crelinsten was back in mount again. Leavitt worked hard to escape again but this time Crelinsten stepped off into side control in order to stay on top, switching between that and mount or knee on belly for several minutes. Leavitt eventually used the pit wall to bridge and get to top position, but Crelinsten elevated him from butterfly guard and threatened his legs. Leavitt disengaged to escape and started trying to pass, but Crelinsten worked his way back up to standing. Crelinsten hit a quick bodylock takedown and passed into mount again but the time ran out shortly after, and he was awarded the decision win.
Pit Submission Series 5 Full Results
Ethan Crelinsten defeats Jordan Leavitt via Decision – Unanimous
Lucas ‘Hulk’ Barbosa defeats AJ Agazarm via Decision – Unanimous
Helena Crevar defeats Mariya Agipova via Submission – Heel Hook
The full Pit Submission Series 5 event replay, including all of the above results, is available to watch live on the official YouTube channel of Karate Combat:
