Pit Submission Series 7 took place on July 25th, 2024 and the results featured several of the biggest names in both BJJ and MMA. There were three matches booked for the lineup as usual, and each one looked as though it might produce some entertaining moments for the fans in attendance. First up was two elite grapplers, as ADCC veteran Patrick Gaudio stepped into the pit to face Diego Ramalho. The match was largely uneventful and they stayed on the feet grinding away in the clinch for all but the last 6 seconds. The decision went Gaudio’s way as he was undoubtedly the aggressor throughout, whereas Ramalho was playing defensive to avoid being taken down.
Roosevelt Sousa was up next against UFC heavyweight Alexandr Romanov and he sat to guard within the first minute of their match. Romanov was engaging cautiously at first but he did eventually drop in for a pass, and Sousa hit a lovely armdrag that allowed him to wrestle up to top position. He couldn’t hold it for long though, as Romanov worked his way up to his feet with an underhook and Sousa sat to guard again. Sousa tried to work off his back but eventually followed Romanov to a standing position, and Romanov drove him against the cage wall.
Sousa circled out and fought in the clinch, but it wasn’t long before he pulled guard again. Another attempt at wrestling up by Sousa and Romanov pressured forward to stop him, but a little too much this time. It allowed Sousa to shoot underneath his hips and get to the saddle, where he quickly locked up a heel hook for the submission win. There was a short break as Karate Combat returned to it’s regular striking matches, but after a while it was time to see the results of the Pit Submission Series 7 main event.
Aljamain Sterling was up against top Bellator fighter Jay Jay Wilson, and Wilson surprised Sterling by jumping to closed guard early on. He transitioned to rubber guard and was working on offense, but Sterling kept a tight body-lock and used it to stay safe. Sterling pressured Wilson into the corner of the pit and that stifled some of his offense, but he switched things up and started to use K-guard to attack the legs instead. Sterling was able to defend and tried to counter by passing, but Wilson was able to turtle and start to wrestle.
Sterling latched on to a guillotine and as Wilson sat to defend it, Sterling tried to use it to pass his tricky guard. Wilson re-guarded well and even tried to set up a buggy choke from closed guard, but Sterling was able to disengage and both men stood up. Sterling was winning the wrestling exchange at first but Wilson latched on to a guillotine and tried to pull guard and use it to sweep, but Sterling popped his head out as they hit the ground. Wilson was trying to use Williams guard to set up his attacks this time, but he was pressed against the pit wall at an angle that limited his movement.
Sterling stood up to break Wilson’s closed guard open but Wilson almost hit a quick sweep to counter, standing up to meet Sterling when it failed. Sterling pressured Wilson into the pit wall and used it to hit a takedown, quickly working to pass too. Wilson was able to retain half-guard and eventually wrestled up, returning fire with a takedown of his own that landed just as the time ran out. They then went to an overtime period where they would need two point-scoring actions or positions to win the match.
Sterling picked up the pace and was really aggressive, but Wilson got in on his hips and pressed him to the pit wall. Sterling tried to latch on to a guillotine but Wilson escaped and scored for the takedown, with Sterling fighting off his back in closed guard. Sterling tried to shoot his legs up for a triangle choke but Wilson escaped and they returned to standing, with Wilson pulling guard soon after. Sterling worked to break closed guard and eventually passed to mount to score his first point, quickly taking the back to score his second and win the match in overtime.
Pit Submission Series 7 Full Results
Aljamain Sterling defeats Jay Jay Wilson via Decision – Points in Overtime
Roosevelt Sousa defeats Alexandr Romanov via Submission – Heel Hook
Patrick Gaudio defeats Diego Ramalho via Decision – Unanimous
The full Pit Submission Series 7 event replay, including all of the above results, is available to watch on the official YouTube channel of Karate Combat:
