Who’s Number One 25 is scheduled for December 5th, 2024 and we’ve put together a full preview of the stacked card that the promotion is using to finish the year. The main event a match is an interesting one, as FloGrappling has managed to book the reigning ADCC and IBJJF no gi absolute world champions against one another. While it will undoubtedly be a main event to remember for fans of elite grappling, there’s plenty of other interesting matches taking place too. In fact, both the light-heavyweight and women’s strawweight titles will be on the line immediately before that main event comes around.
Who’s Number One 25 Full Preview
Kaynan Duarte vs Roberto Jimenez
Roberto Jimenez was almost flawless at the IBJJF No Gi World Championship last year and he’s been known as one of the most exciting competitors around for quite some time now. Kaynan Duarte on the other hand put on the performance of a lifetime at ADCC 2024 and registered one of the greatest runs in the history of the sport. Not only did he win both the absolute division and the under 99kg weight class at the event, but he did it by submitting all but one of his opponents. It’ll be tough for him to submit Jimenez of course but after an incredible run like that, Duarte is coming in as the favorite to win this match.
Pedro Marinho vs Izaak Michell
Pedro Marinho is the reigning WNO light-heavyweight champion and he’s beaten three of the best grapplers in the world in title-fights. He’s the longest reigning men’s champion that the promotion has and it’s clearly going to take a lot to unseat him. Izaak Michell on the other hand has been in the mix with the top competitors for a while, but he’s still searching for that first major title-win. This is his chance and he’ll likely look to use his newfound wrestling skills to beat Marinho, but Marinho has been here plenty of times before and should be able to get the win.
Adele Fornarino vs Sophia Cassella
This is the second title-fight in this preview of Who’s Number One 25 and it’s for the vacant women’s strawweight belt. Sophia Cassella is very tough to beat but this is her first major superfight after only recently making her black belt debut. She’s been one to watch for a while but she’s up against a whole other level of grappler though, as Adele Fornarino has proven herself to be one of the best in the world recently. She won the under 55kg division at ADCC 2024 and took home the absolute title despite being the lightest woman in the bracket. Fornarino is the favorite and given that she finishes the vast majority of her opponents, a submission win seems likely here too.
Felipe Pena vs Declan Moody
Felipe Pena is now a two-time ADCC world champion after a superb performance in the under 99kg division at ADCC 2024, proving once again that he’s among the very best in the world. Although Declan Moody also competed there, he went 2-2 and lost to Duarte in both the under 99kg division and the absolute. Pena has been inconsistent at times throughout his career so the outcome of this match really does depend on what version of him shows up. Going by his run at ADCC a few months ago, he looks to be in top form and should be able to get the win over Moody here.
Helena Crevar vs Leilani Bernales
Helena Crevar was a top prospect for a while but ADCC 2024 was her breakout moment, and she’s now firmly ranked at the very top of her weight class. It’s been tough for the young teenager to find challenging matches until now, but with an ADCC silver medal to her name this shouldn’t be a problem any more. Leilani Bernales almost made it to ADCC alongside her in fact, as she stood on the podium of multiple different ADCC Trials events during the build-up. While Bernales is a tough opponent for anyone, Crevar is an elite competitor who will likely emerge victorious in this match.
Daniel Sathler vs Fabyury Khrysthyan
Daniel Sathler and Fabyury Khrysthyan are both exciting competitors and they’re very well-matched here, making this one of the toughest matches to predict in this preview of Who’s Number One 25. Khrysthyan has only been competing at black belt for a little under a year now and he doesn’t have the same amount of experience at this level that Sathler does. That may play a factor here and Khrysthyan has been submitted in most of his losses, so that does seem like the most likely outcome here.
Max Hanson vs Carlos Henrique
This is the trilogy match between Max Hanson and Carlos Henrique, as they’ve met on the mats twice in the last two years. They’re 1-1 against one another as well, with each man beating the other on points. Hanson has been developing at a superb rate over that time though and it was shown by the fact that he won the most recent match. Henrique is also known for winning by points more than anything else, a style that isn’t well-suited to WNO rules. With that in mind, Hanson should be able to get the win here but it isn’t exactly going to be easy for him.
Preliminary Card
Julian Espinosa vs Randy Baker
Julian Espinosa has been an incredibly prolific competitor lately and in the last two years alone he’s had around a hundred matches. One of those matches was actually against Randy Baker, and Espinosa won that one by submission with a heel hook. Baker is a solid grappler in his own right of course, but Espinosa has been right on the edge of the highest level of competition recently. The most likely outcome here is that Espinosa gets another win over Baker, whether that’s by submission or decision.
Emilio Hernandez vs Isaac Cordova
Emilio Hernandez is a veteran of the sport at this point and with hundreds of matches against the highest level of competition under his belt, he’s a very game opponent. He’s also got an exciting approach that often leads to a submission finish, regardless of who ends up winning. Isaac Cordova is also a pretty frequent competitor on the no gi circuit and he actually earned the opportunity to face Hernandez by winning a qualifier tournament at Finishers: Summer Bash 2. It really could go either way, but we’re backing Cordova to get the win in what should be a close match.
Dylan Melton vs Sebastian Attard
Dylan Melton is still pretty early on in his competitive career but he’s already been able to share the mats with ADCC medalists and he’s had some good performances against them. Sebastian Attard is at a similar level in his career, but he already holds a win over Melton from the ADCC Orlando Open last year. Both men are improving at a rapid rate and they will both have made plenty of changes since then, so it’ll be interesting to see how the rematch unfolds. Attard might be slightly more likely to come away with the win, but it wouldn’t be surprising to see Melton win either.
Thaynara Victoria vs Cathryn Discianni
Thaynara Victoria won the IBJJF World Championship at every belt level during her journey through the ranks, before being promoted to black belt just a few months ago. Cathryn Discianni has taken a slightly different path to get to this match, focusing on no gi competition and also winning world titles as a colored belt in the masters division. It won’t be easy for either woman but Victoria seems to get better with every outing and she should be able to win here.
The full Who’s Number One 25: Kaynan Duarte vs Roberto Jimenez event is available to watch live on December 4th, 2024 on FloGrappling, click here to subscribe and watch.
