Category Archives for Fight Reviews
My Take Down Highlight Reel
I put together a highlight video of takedowns I’ve scored throughout my 15 years of competing. Some of the more notable take downs here are against BJJ legend Saulo Ribeiro, ADCC champion Jeff Monson, Roy “Big Country” Nelson, and ADCC Absolute Champion Roberto “Cyborg” Abreu. As you can see, I have fought in my share […]
Continue readingCutting Weight with TitanFC Champ Jason Soares
Today’s video is a bit different than usual. Rather than showing technique, I’m giving you a behind-the-scenes look at how one of my top fighters cuts weight. Jason “the Specimen” Soares is 12-0 in pro MMA. He recently defended his TitanFC title by winning with a vicious KO. Fortunately, I was around during his weight cut, and I am […]
Continue readingThe ROPE Drill – This is NOT fun, but it’s a great conditioning drill
I remember the first time I did the ROPE drill quite well. One of my training partners, Efrain Ruiz, introduced me to it. He seemed to do it with some struggle, but nothing major. When I finished 5 rounds of it though, wow – my legs turned into jello. It is pretty self explanatory from […]
Continue readingFar Side Duck Under off the Underhook
It’s nice being back in Miami, as it has been a while since I was able to hang out with my family and team at the Freestyle Fighting Academy. I also get to watch an ADCC National Champion, my brother Marcos Avellan, teach class. I wouldn’t want to leave you in the dark, so I filmed […]
Continue reading10 Year Challenge: Muay Thai Clinch Wrestling
It seems everyone has been posting before and after photos from 10 years ago, so I decided to step it up and show you a video of me from 10 years ago. 🙂 This was back in 2009 in Tiger Muay Thai in Thailand. Me and my former student and grappling sensation Enrico Cocco are […]
Continue readingMy Battle with Andre Galvao
This match review is from the 2009 ADCC Submission Wrestling World Championships in Barcelona, Spain. After having a breakthrough performance on Day 1 of ADCC, submitting European champion Trond Saksenvik and ADCC Pro World Champion Tarsis Humphries, my goal of becoming an ADCC Champion was within reach. One man stood in my way to the […]
Continue readingHow to Stop a Half Guard Player
Do you know how to shut down a half guard player? Another match review, this one goes back to 2003 I believe in a Grapplers Quest West Pro Finals against Moacir “Boca” Oliveira. Funny to think I was here in Las Vegas over 15 years ago, and know I’m living here today. 🙂 Boca was […]
Continue readingADCC 2009: Avellan vs Saksenvik
This match was the beginning of a mindset shift for me that changed how I approached every match afterwards. In previous ADCC tournaments, I was more focused on getting points to win. I took few risks, and had a take down / guard passing centered game plan. After 7 matches that lasted 100 minutes, I […]
Continue readingOld Match Review: Me vs Rodrigo “Baga” Ramos
This match from back in 2001 was a wrestling battle with a lot of under hooks! Man I’m getting old, or should I say, more experienced. 🙂 This match I believe was 17 years ago, against ATT Black Belt Rodrigo “Baga” Ramos. This was the first and last time I competed in an event I was promoting. The stress of running a grappling event when you are 19 years old […]
Continue readingPodcast and Results from Subversiv BJJ Team Tournament
This past weekend I coached Team Lloyd Irvin at the Subversiv BJJ Team Tournament. We had a last minute injury that caused us to be a man short for a team of 4 instead of 5. Still, Tim Spriggs, DJ Jackson, Angelo Clairborne, and Nyjah Rollins came out strong and won the first team match […]
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