Grappling team battle?!

As the sport of Mixed Martial Arts explodes across the globe, so do many of it’s component marital arts. Competitive grappling has made a particular rise in recent years. New polished promotions such as ADCC, Polaris, and EBI have become permanent fixtures in competitive combat sports. Now Rabarland Inc. out of Japan has announced a new grappling league featuring some big names in combat sports. Oh, and it will also feature 5 versus 5 survival matches.

The promotion is named Quintet, and it’s rules are as follows: teams will consist of five competitors with a total weight not exceeding 948 pounds. Matches last ten minutes. If neither team is victorious after five rounds, both teams select one competitor for an single combat match to determine the winning team.

MMA legend Kuzushi Sakuraba is at the head of Quintet, and announced in a press release:

“Thanks to our sponsors and everyone involved. I would like to contribute to the combat sports world by holding these grappling events, and help nurture and encourage amateur fighters around the world.”

Sakuraba will also be competing among many other legendary names. For example, The Haleo Dream Team features Sakuraba, former UFC champion, Josh Barnett, Marcos Souza, Daisuke Nakamura and Hideo Tokoro.

The Polaris team features athletes that have competed under their promotion including British strongman Dan Strauss, leglock specialist Craig Jones, Gregor Gracie, Charles Negromonte and one individual who is still to be named.

Teams for Sambo and Judo events will also be featured with top competitors in their respective competitive arenas such as Satoshi Ishii and Marius Zaromskis.

“We are planning 3 events this year, the first in Japan and then England and then America where grappling competitions are popular these days. The rules are being adopted to not restrict grappling arts fighters from the likes of Jiu-Jitsu, Judo, Wrestling and Sambo.”

Quintet 1 is set to kick off on April 11 in the Ryogoku Kokugikan Sumo Hall.

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