Finishers Open 22 took place on January 30th, 2026 and the event featured a lightweight qualifier tournament where the winner would earn a spot on an upcoming Who’s Number One (WNO) card. This isn’t the first time that they’ve managed to put something like this together and the competition is always fierce. This was no exception either, and the semi-finals were populated by four men who wouldn’t look out of place on any major event’s preliminary card. Nick Digiacomo was the first man to make it to the semi-finals and although he couldn’t make it further, he did leave with a huge win over elite competitor Jack Stapleton in the earlier rounds.
The man who beat Digiacomo for a place in the final was Matt Masch, a 21 year old brown belt who had already managed to make an impact at the highest level of the sport when he won the Combat Jiu-Jitsu lightweight world championship in 2024. The other semi-final featured another top young contender the same age as Masch, Finishers veteran and purple belt no gi world champion Sid Tavolaro. Although Tavolaro was one of the early favorites, he was derailed by 18 year-old prospect Giovanni Rubio and didn’t advance further. Rubio then capped off his run with a win over Masch, finishing the day with a perfect 4-0 record and winning the bracket.
Finishers Open 22: WNO Lightweight Qualifier Full Results
Benjamin Snow defeats Ben Lakatos
Sage DiGuiseppe defeats Abraham Mwakilasa
Scott Harrington defeats Davaun Jackson
Stephen Dana defeats Antonio Javier-Bompartito
Aaron Smith defeats Sean Robichaud
Philip Blanchard defeats Dallas Henderson
Bailey Cohen-Vera defeats James Clark
Jack Sudduth defeats AJ Rivera
Second Round
Nick Digiacomo defeats Benjamin Snow
Jack Stapleton defeats Sage DiGuiseppe
Jimmy Gutierrez defeats Scott Harrington
Matt Masch defeats Stephen Dana
Giovanni Rubio defeats Aaron Smith
Damian Maver defeats Philip Blanchard
Sid Tavolaro defeats Bailey Cohen-Vera
Lawson Grime defeats Jack Sudduth
Quarter-Finals
Nick Digiacomo defeats Jack Stapleton
Matt Masch defeats Jimmy Gutierrez
Giovanni Rubio defeats Damian Maver
Sid Tavolaro defeats Lawson Grime
Semi-Finals
Matt Masch defeats Nick Digiacomo
Giovanni Rubio defeats Sid Tavolaro
Final
Giovanni Rubio defeats Matt Masch
The winner of the WNO Lightweight Qualifier at Finishers Open 22 will compete on an upcoming WNO event that will be available to watch live on FloGrappling’s official YouTube channel, click here to subscribe and watch.
