Pit Submission Series 8 took place on October 11th, 2024 and the promotion put on an excellent show overall, as these grappling matches were on after the landmark 50th Karate Combat event. It was a great night of action across multiple combat sports disciplines, but the grappling matches in particular produced plenty of fireworks. It’s not hard to see why either, as Pit Submission Series booked eight incredibly exciting competitors to face one another in their biggest event yet. There was a good mix of elite veteran grapplers and talented young prospects too, so there was plenty of battles for the fans to enjoy.
First up was Daniel Sathler and Matheus Costa, with Sathler diving on a jumping guillotine off the pit wall early and getting slammed to the mat for his troubles. They continued battling in the clinch for a little while but Sathler pulled closed guard shortly after. Sathler tried to work for an omoplata but he ended up using it to create space and stand up instead. Costa drove him into the pit wall and Sathler took a few steps backward right to the top of it, leaping off the wall and into a flying triangle choke. He transitioned to an armbar as Costa defended, cranking on the arm and getting the tap after less than 3 minutes.
Paulo Miyao was up next against Pablo Mantovani and he sat to guard immediately, Mantovani was working hard to pass but he couldn’t get anything going for a while. Miyao hit a berimbolo and although Mantovani threatened him with a toehold briefly, he was still able to come up on top for the sweep. Mantovani alternated between trying to sweep or stand but he couldn’t get anything going before the first round ended. Miyao sat to guard again in the second round and Mantovani sat back on a heel hook, but Miyao defended and stood up to secure top position.
Miyao was working his leg-drag passing and threatening the back occasionally but Mantovani was doing well to defend and retain guard. Although he did get through to half-guard, Miyao couldn’t finish the pass before the second round ended. Another early guard pull for Miyao in the third round and after briefly threatening Mantovani’s legs, he was able to get another sweep. Miyao stacked Mantovani against the wall and was able to pass for the first time, but Mantovani recovered when Miyao tried to move into mount. He finished out the round there and one the match pretty cleanly on the judge’s scorecards.
AJ Agazarm and Piter Frank both started out by handfighting for dominant position in the co-main event of Pit Submission Series 8 and although Agazarm got in on a good single-leg briefly, he didn’t finish it. Agazarm shot in for a low single-leg and Frank tried to counter with a kani basami, but couldn’t make a good connection. Agazarm transitioned to the rear-bodylock and hit a big throw, climbing up Frank’s back once they hit the mat. Frank pulled through one of Agazarm’s legs and threatened a kneebar to cause him to defend, transitioning to a straight ankle-lock and using it to stand back up.
Agazarm chased after him and got the rear-bodylock for another big throw, but Frank pulled the leg for another kneebar attempt. Agazarm almost took Frank’s back when he escaped but Frank used the threat of the leg attack to prevent it again. They stand back up and Agazarm gets another low single into the rear-bodylock, but Frank gets in on another kneebar to deal with it just as the round ends. They start out slower in the second round but Agazarm hits another low single-leg, taking him down but not quite keeping him there. A double-leg from Agazarm this time and Frank stuffs it, but Agazarm re-wrestles and gets the front-headlock against the pit wall.
Frank escapes but gets hit with another low single-leg and Agazarm moves to the rear-bodylock for another throw, taking Frank’s back when he tries to stand back up. Frank stays standing and throws him over the top, jumping on Agazarm’s back when he lands. Frank tries to transition to the armbar but Agazarm deals with the threat and comes up on top, giving up a heel hook entry in the process. Agazarm escapes that too and counters with a heel hook of his own, but he can’t finish it before the second round ends. It’s another slower start in the third round but Agazarm is the first to shoot, using the double-leg entry to transition to a single-leg.
Frank escapes and sprawls on another shot soon after, stepping over for an armbar. Agazarm defends and gets to Frank’s back again, but Frank turns into him before he can land the throw this time. Frank shoots in for a takedown this time, quickly spinning for an armbar from the top but he can’t secure it. Agazarm returns to standing and shoots for another low single but Frank attacks a kimura, only for Agazarm to escape again. Another low shot leads to another rear-bodylock for Agazarm, but he releases the grip and the clock runs out shortly after.
The main event was a grudge match between Vagner Rocha and Calon Sabino, with Sabino pulling guard early. Rocha starts trying to pass but Sabino gets in on a heel hook, with Rocha freeing his knee-line and returning to standing after. Rocha pressures in to top half-guard and Sabino is using a lockdown to create space, so Rocha stands and break free. Sabino gets in on the legs again but Rocha escapes earlier and forces him to turtle, taking his back soon after. Rocha locks up a body-triangle and uses a smother to distract Sabino while he attacks an arm, forcing Sabino face-down and finishing the first round there.
Rocha hits an early double-leg in the second round, driving Sabino into the wall and immediately stepping into mount when he hits the ground. Rocha sits to S-mount and attacks an armbar, but transitions to the back when Sabino defends and locks up a body-triangle again. Rocha digs hard for the choke for over a minute before Sabino gets his back to the mat again, with Rocha staying heavy in mount. Rocha sits off for another armbar but Sabino holds on, with Rocha eventually transitioning back to mount. Sabino does well to get to standing but the second round is over just a few seconds later.
Sabino sits to guard again in the final round but a high-step pass works beautifully for Rocha and he’s straight into side control. Rocha steps into mount but Sabino is able to get enough space to play guard again, with Rocha taking just a few seconds to pass again. Rocha is back into mount and starts working for the arm-triangle choke but Sabino is able to scramble back to his feet. Rocha drives Sabino into the pit wall and down to his back, hitting a quick knee-slice pass back into side control and into mount again. Rocha takes to the back and transitions to a rear-triangle choke from there, forcing Sabino to tap with just 15 seconds left.
Pit Submission Series 8 Full Results
Vagner Rocha defeats Calon Sabino via Submission – Rear-triangle Choke
AJ Agazarm defeats Piter Frank via Decision – Unanimous
Paulo Miyao defeats Pablo Mantovani via Decision – Unanimous
Daniel Sathler defeats Matheus Costa via Submission – Flying Triangle Armbar
The full Pit Submission Series 8 event replay, including all of the above results, is available to watch on the official YouTube channel of Karate Combat:
