Who’s Number One 26 will take place on February 7th, 2025 and we’ve put together a full preview of every match on the card. It’s set to be a fantastic event with several top young prospects competing on the preliminary card and some of the best grapplers in the world matched up on the main card. All that will be leading up to the main event of the evening, where the promotion’s lightweight title will be on the line. Reigning champion Diego ‘Pato’ Oliveira is attempting to make his first defense against Keith Krikorian, as he looks to maintain his status as the promotion’s only two-weight champion.
Who’s Number One 26 Full Card Preview
Diego Pato vs Keith Krikorian – Lightweight Title-fight
This isn’t the first time that Diego ‘Pato’ Oliveira and Keith Krikorian have crossed paths, although it has been almost 3 years since their other match. They met in the opening round of the under 66kg division at ADCC 2022 and Oliveira was relentless in chasing the finish right from the start, eventually finding the ankle-lock. Krikorian has improved a lot since then, but so has Oliveira of course. It will almost certainly be a much closer match than last time around, but Oliveira is still the favorite to win it.
Jacob Rodriguez vs Ronaldo Junior
The co-main event is sure to be a very exciting match, but then it always is when Jacob Rodriguez is involved. The B-Team Jiu-Jitsu competitor maintains a higher pace than most grapplers can cope with and he reached a whole new level when he finished second at under 88kg at ADCC 2024. He’ll be up against a fierce veteran here though, so this will be a very challenging matchup. Rodriguez will face multiple-time IBJJF No Gi World Championship winner Ronaldo Junior and although he’s not known for being as exciting, he’s a very consistent winner. If Junior can control Rodriguez and slow him down then he should be able to win a decision, but Rodriguez does have a path to victory if he can stay on top and work his passing game.
Roberto Jimenez vs Elder Cruz
Roberto Jimenez is another exciting competitor and he has some history with Elder Cruz, as Cruz gave him his only loss at the IBJJF No Gi World Championship 2023. It was a narrow win by just two points and both men are at the very highest level of the sport, so it wouldn’t surprising to see another match go either way. Cruz has been in slightly better form lately but Jimenez has been facing an incredibly high standard of opposition as well. Cruz is the slight favorite on paper as a result, but this match really could go either way.
Luccas Lira vs Ryan Aitken
Ryan Aitken has been on fantastic form recently and 2024 was undoubtedly the biggest year of his career, with the highlight being a huge win at PGF 7. He’ll be facing Luccas Lira and although it will undoubtedly be one of the toughest matches he’s had, he’s already shown that he’s got the skills to win it. Aitken is very well-rounded but it will probably be his leglock game that will be his best path to victory against Lira. If he follows through on that then he should be able to either submit Lira or at least keep him on the defensive enough to win a decision.
Tainan Dalpra vs Rene Sousa
Tainan Dalpra is one of the best gi competitors in the world and although he’s still pretty early in his no gi career, he’s been flawless so far. He’s beaten some solid opponents already and Rene Sousa is one of the best to come up through the 10th Planet ranks in recent years. It’s tough to gauge where Dalpra stands in the no gi grappling world and Sousa is a specialist who might present some problems for him. Based on the limited number of matches that Dalpra has had, he should be able to get the win over Sousa regardless.
Rafaela Guedes vs Paige Ivette
Rafaela Guedes is a fantastic competitor and she’s the reigning ADCC world champion at over 65kg, so she’s going to be the favorite in most single matches. This isn’t going to be an easy match at all though, as Paige Ivette is a very talented grappler in her own right. Ivette is coming into this off a great performance as well, winning a silver medal at the IBJJF No Gi World Championship 2024. The most likely outcome is that Guedes gets the win and that would be the safest bet, but she’s not invincible.
Daniel Sathler vs Michael Sainz
Michael Sainz is one competitor to keep an eye on over the next few years and he’s already starting to make an impact, but Daniel Sathler was on a similar trajectory just a few years ago. Both of them are exciting grapplers and there’s going to be fireworks, along with a very good chance of a submission win. That could come from either of them really, but Sathler does have the slight edge in experience and results. It’s going to be a close match, but that advantage might just be enough to see Sathler through to victory.
Preliminary Card
Isaac Cordova vs Zach Kaina
Isaac Cordova made a successful promotional debut at Who’s Number One 25 and he’s already moved up to headlining the preliminary card at Who’s Number One 26. He’s also received a step up in opponent as well, as Zach Kaina is an excellent competitor coming out of Art of Jiu-Jitsu. It should be a fun match as the two men have an interesting clash of styles, although Kaina probably does have the upper hand in that respect. Kaina has had a higher level of success in the sport too, so he should be considered the favorite here.
Ian Butler vs Victor Silverio
Ian Butler is an MMA veteran who enjoyed a pretty length career at Bellator, but he’s been focusing much more on professional grappling in recent years. He’s had some good results and he’s become a solid competitor too, but Victor Silverio has a level of experience at the highest level that is tough to match. Silverio has spent over s decade sharing the mats with the best in the world and there isn’t anything that he hasn’t seen before. Both men have a realistic path to victory, but we’re picking Butler as the winner in this preview.
Solange Van Doorn vs Rana Willink
Rana Willink is the daughter of popular podcaster and Navy SEAL Jocko Willink, but she’s also proved that she’s an excellent grappler when given recent opportunities on pretty big stages. This is going to be the biggest opportunity she’s had so far though, and she’ll have to get past talented purple belt Solange Van Doorn in order to win her WNO debut. Competitors develop very quickly this early in their careers so this match is tough to predict, but Willink should get the win based on the strength of her recent performances.
Katie Carr vs Sarah Galvao
Sarah Galvao is the daughter of Andre Galvao and although she’s still a BJJ brown belt, she’s beaten several top black belt competitors already. Katie Carr is a solid grappler and she won the IBJJF Master World Championship as a purple belt last year, receiving her brown belt immediately afterward. Galvao is right on the verge of breaking through to the highest level of competition though and she’s the favorite to win this matchup.
The full Who’s Number One 26: Diego ‘Pato’ Oliveira vs Keith Krikorian card, including every match in this preview, is available to watch live on February 7th, 2035 on FloGrappling, click here to subscribe and watch.
