Toro Cup 24 is right around the corner and the promotion has managed to book a superb main event match for March 4th, 2023 as Gianni Grippo challenges Gabriel Sousa for his lightweight title. These two men are among the best lighter weight no gi grapplers on the planet right now and they’ve both proved it several times over. Gianni Grippo is the reigning IBJJF featherweight no gi world champion after an impressive performance in 2022, while Gabriel Sousa earned a silver medal at ADCC 2022 after going 3-1 against tough opposition at the event.
Gianni Grippo and Gabriel Sousa have actually met on the mats on two separate occasions before. The first time these two crossed paths was back at the IBJJF European Championship in 2020, where Sousa managed to win on points in the early stages of the 70kg division. They met once again in 2020 in the semi-final of the IBJJF no gi Pan Championship, where Sousa managed to emerge victorious for the second time. It was by a much thinner margin this time however as points couldn’t separate the two men and the match went to a referee decision to determine the winner.
Grippo will now have the opportunity to get one back against Sousa at Toro Cup 24, and the stakes are pretty high with the promotion’s lightweight title on the line. There’s plenty of other matches on the card as well, including competitors ranging from the coloured belts all the way to experienced black belt athletes. All in all, it’s set to be a fun night of grappling leading up to the main event match between two elite athletes and as always with the Toro Cup, a large chunk of the money raised will go to charity.
The news that Gianni Grippo was going to challenge Gabriel Sousa for his lightweight title at Toro Cup 24 on March 4th, 2023 was announced in a post to the promotion’s official Instagram account:
