This article and the accompanying footage of Joao Miyao vs Craig McDonald from Place of Peace Invitational 1 is part of Free Fight Friday, our ongoing project to bring the best in professional Jiu-Jitsu competition to everyone. To avoid spoilers for the match, scroll directly to the footage below.
Joao Miyao is one of a handful of BJJ competitors on the planet who needs no introduction, as he’s been competing and winning at the highest levels of the sport since he and his brother Paulo Miyao were promoted to black belt back in 2013. He’s won multiple IBJJF world championship gold medals both in the gi and in no gi, registering a number wins over some of the best grapplers on the planet over the years. Miyao hadn’t been competing at all leading up to this match and while Craig McDonald had been more active, he hadn’t had anywhere near the same exposure to elite competition as Miyao.
The match between Joao Miyao and Craig McDonald served as the co-main event at the very first Place of Peace invitational event, shortly before the main event match between Shane Hill-Taylor and Yuta Shimada. While these two superfights and the others booked before delivered plenty of action for the fans in attendance, the promotion also staged a women’s absolute tournament earlier in the night that drew plenty of attention. This was one of the most hard-fought matches of the night, with both men leaving it all on the mats and McDonald challenging Miyao in several ways before he was able to get the finish by Barataplata.
Subscribe to the official JitsMagazine YouTube channel for more Free Fight Friday footage, and the full match between Joao Miyao and Craig McDonald can be found below:
