POUGHKEEPSIE – The Hudson Valley Grappling Invitational (HVGI) is returning to Poughkeepsie Saturday night for the third time. The first two events were very successful, according to the promoters John Ventosa and his promotion partner Mike Wacker.
The sport of grappling is rooted in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ) and is sponsored by Black Hole Jiu-Jitsu of Wappingers Falls, owned by co-promoter Mike Wacker. Grappling, according to Wacker is “designed to allow a smaller, weaker person to successfully defend themselves against a bigger, stronger, heavier opponent by using technique and leverage. The objective is to take the fight to the ground, where the size difference isn’t as important and you can minimize the danger of strikes, and then apply joint locks and chokeholds to defeat the opponent.”
On Saturday, April 16th, the doors of Revel 32 will open at 4:00 p.m. for spectators with the matches set to begin at 5:00 p.m.
Ventosa, an attorney by day at McCabe Coleman Ventosa & Patterson in Poughkeepsie said “We have a lineup of exciting matchups, including our main event which features a title defense from our 135-pound champion and Flograppling #5 ranked 135lb’er, Estevan “Giant Slayer” Martinez, who will be defending his title against HVGI newcomer Austin Daffron.” The attorney and grappler hyped the main event by adding “Both competitors always bring a high level of energy and showmanship to their matches and are certain to make for a thrilling main event.”
All of Saturday’s matches will be “submission-only,” which means that there are no points – it will either be a submission or a judge’s decision at the end of the 10-minute match. They will also all be “no-gi” which is the traditional martial arts “kimono”.
The show will be broadcast live and on-demand on Flograppling, which is the premier broadcasting network for grappling events.
The promoters both said that Revel 32 has made some improvements to their space since the first show, “which makes for a very enjoyable evening for our patrons, even those who are not familiar with the sport”.
Tickets can be purchased via ticketleap at https://hvgi.ticketleap.com/
