The latest Who’s Number One event was headlined by an unusual match between Jacob Couch and Gordon Ryan, who stepped in on short notice to replace his younger brother Nicky. Most fans didn’t give Couch much hope at all given the vast difference in both size and elite competitive experience, but it was still interesting to see if he was able to pull off a massive underdog victory. That wasn’t the only storyline leading into the event however, as Nicholas Meregali was also making his no gi competitive debut against a veteran athlete in Arnaldo Maidana.
In the end, the match between Ryan and Couch went about the same way that fans expected. Ryan took control of the match pretty much from the start and ended up submitting Couch with pure pressure from the S-mount position as he was securing an armbar. In his no gi debut, Meregali actually performed just as well as Ryan did in the main event. He also went hunting for the Armbar and he managed to finish it against Maidana, looking pretty comfortable all the way through. If this is a sign of things to come then it seems as though Meregali will be a major factor at the 2022 ADCC world championships.
Elsewhere on the card, the co-main event saw Mica Galvao defeat Dante Leon by unanimous decision in an impressive performance that also bodes well for his prospects at ADCC 2022. Two other performances stood out with the first coming from Sophia Cassella, who managed to get the fastest submission in a women’s match in WNO history when she locked up a beautiful inverted heel hook against top competitor Jessica Crane. Haisam Rida also surprised the crowd as he took Elder Cruz’s back and managed to choke him out, continuing his impressive run of results in recent times.
Who’s Number One: Gordon Ryan v Jacob Couch Full Results
Gordon Ryan defeats Jacob Couch via Submission – Top Pressure
Mica Galvao defeats Dante Leon via Decision – Unanimous
Nicholas Meregali defeats Arnaldo Maidana via Submission – Armbar
