The second AIGA Champions League quarter-final took place on August 19th and 20th, 2023, and both Team Modolfo and Universal Fighters qualified for the final. It should come as no surprise seeing as Mo Jassim put together a fantastic team to take on the tournament, and they managed to come top of their group. In the end three out of the four teams were actually tied with 2 wins and a loss, but Team Modolfo had the most submission finishes and Universal Fighters were second on that tie-breaking criteria.
Khabib Nurmagomedov put together a team for the event too and although they also managed to register two wins, they had less submission finishes than both of the other teams and did not qualify for the final as a result. There were a number of great moments from the weekend of high-level grappling, particularly from Team Modolfo. Cole Abate impressed by getting a pair of heel hook finishes and further cemented the fact that he’s going to be incredibly tough to beat now that he’s competing at black belt.
Giancarlo Bodoni made a huge difference for Team Modolfo at the AIGA Champions League quarter-final too as he won three matches over the course of the weekend, finishing two of his opponents as well. Dante Leon and Izaak Michell also won a pair of matches at the event with both of Leon’s coming by way of submission, whereas Michell landed one submission and won a points victory over his former teammate Jozef Chen. All in all, the AIGA Champions League quarter-final was a fantastic event and both Team Modolfo and Universal Fighters were well-deserved qualifiers.
AIGA Champions League Second Quarter-Final 2023 Full Results
Final Standings
Team Modolfo, 2-1 – Qualified for Champion’s League Finals
Universal Fighters, 2-1 – Qualified for Champion’s League Finals
Nurmagomedov MMA School, 2-1
Al Leone, 0-3
Nurmagomedov MMA School defeats Universal Fighters 4-3
Artur Agasharinov (Team Nurmagomedov) def. Zaur Ahmedov (Universal Fighters) via Referee Decision
Abduzhalil Adilov (Universal Fighters) def. Davud Magomedov (Team Nurmagomedov) via Points (3-2)
Ruslan Abdulaev (Universal Fighters) def. Ibragimov Magomedov (Team Nurmagomedov) via Points (4-0)
Bagir Gasratov (Team Nurmagomedov) def. Rashid Kaitmazov (Universal Fighters) via Points (2-0)
Murad Ramazanov (Team Nurmagomedov) def. Alibekov Gadzhimurad (Universal Fighters) via Points (2-0)
Magomed Shakhbanov (Universal Fighters) def. Alikhan Igembek (Team Nurmagomedov) via Rear-Naked Choke
Alibekov Gadzimurad (Team Nurmagomedov) and Gairbek Ibragimov (Universal Fighters) via Referee Decision
Team Modolfo defeats Team AL Leone 6-1
Luke Griffith (Team Modolfo) def. Kaya Rudolph (Al Leone) via Rear-naked Choke
Fabricio Andrey (Team Modolfo) def. Xu Huai Qing (Al Leone) via Rear-naked Choke
Daiki Yonekura (Al Leone) def. Zach Kaina (Team Modolfo) via Referee Decision
Bruno Peterson (Team Modolfo) def. Garie Tang (Al Leone) via Referee Decision
Giancarlo Bodoni (Team Modolfo) def. Kemal Akagunduz (Al Leone) via Rear-naked Choke
Izaak Michell (Team Modolfo) def. Jozef Chen (Al Leone) via Points (5:0)
Dante Leon (Team Modolfo) def. Kenta Iwamoto (AL Leone) via Triangle Armbar
Team Modolfo defeats Team Nurmagomedov 6-1
Alikhan Igembek (Team Nurmagomedov) def. Bruno Peterson (Team Modolfo) via Heel Hook
Gabriel Sousa (Team Modolfo) def. Kurban Kadiev (Team Nurmagomedov) via Points (5:0)
Izaak Michell (Team Modolfo) def. Shamil Shihsabakov (Team Nurmagomedov) via Armbar
Zach Kaina (Team Modolfo) def. Khalid Asildarov (Team Nurmagomedov) via Heel Hook
Giancarlo Bodoni (Team Modolfo) def. Murad Ramazanov (Team Nurmagomedov) via Referee Decision
John Hansen (Team Modolfo) def. Ibragimov Magomedov (Team Nurmagomedov) via Points (6:0)
Cole Abate (Team Modolfo) def. Atai Murzaev (Team Nurmagomedov) via Heel Hook
Universal Fighters defeats Al Leone 4-3
Magomedbek Temeev (Universal Fighters) def. Garie Tang (Al Leone) via Rear-naked Choke
Gairbek Ibragimov (Universal Fighters) def. Xu Huai Qing (Al Leone) via Side Katagatame
Daniel Schuardt (Al Leone) def. Roman Lukashevich (Universal Fighters) via Inside Heel Hook
Magomed Shakhbanov (Universal Fighters) def. Daika Yonekura (Al Leone) via Points (5-0, 0-0, 2-0)
Rashid Kaitmazov (Universal Fighters) def. Ozgur Hanay (Al Leone) via Points (10-2, 8-0, 7-0)
Kaya Rudolph (Al Leone) def. Gadzhimurad Abdulaev (Universal Fighters) via Inside Heel Hook
Jozef Chen (Al Leone) def. Abduzhalil Adilov (Universal Fighters) via Aoki Lock
Nurmagomedov MMA School defeats Al Leone 4-3
Daniel Schuardt (Al Leone) def. Ibragimov Magomedov (Team Nurmagomedov) via Inside Heel Hook
Jozef Chen (Al Leone) def. Davud Magomedov (Team Nurmagomedov) via Inside Heel Hook
Daika Yonekura (Al Leone) def. Artur Agashirinov (Team Nurmagomedov) via Inside Heel Hook
Alikhan Igembek (Team Nurmagomedov) def. Garie Tang (Al Leone) via Armbar
Alibekov Gadzimurad (Team Nurmagomedov) def. Xu Huai Qing (Al Leone) via Points (5-0, 0-0, 0-0)
Murad Ramazonov (Team Nurmagomedov) def. Kemal Akagunduz (Al Leone) via Kimura
Bagir Gastratov (Team Nurmagomedov) def. Ozgur Hanay (Al Leone) via Cloverleaf
Universal Fighters defeats Team Modolfo 4-3
Magomedbek Temeev (Universal Fighters) def. Bruno Peterson (Team Modolfo) via Rear-naked Choke
Ruslan Abdulaev (Universal Fighters) def. Luke Griffith (Team Modolfo) via Points (3-0, 6-0, 0-1)
Dante Leon (Team Modolfo) def. by Abduzhalil Adilov (Universal Fighters) via Armbar
Magomed Shakhbanov (Universal Fighters) def. Zach Kaina (Team Modolfo) via Points (1-0, 2-0, 1-1)
Giancarlo Bodoni (Team Modolfo) def. Gadzhimurad Abdulaev (Universal Fighters) via Inside Heel Hook
Cole Abate (Team Modolfo) def. Rashid Kaitmazov (Universal Fighters) via Outside Heel Hook
Gairbek Ibragimov (Universal Fighters) def. Fabricio Andrey (Team Modolfo) via Referee Decision
The full event replay of the second AIGA Champions League quarter-final 2023, including all of the results from Team Modolfo and Universal Fighters qualifying for the final, is available to watch on FloGrappling.