Great night of grappling in Costa Mesa: The big WNO grappling show had some great action tonight. Unfortunately we came up short in our two matches. Giancarlo Bodoni lost a decision to current champion Pedro Merinho when Mr Merinho completed two nice takedowns. JT Torres had an impressive comeback win showcasing his well known positional skills. In the main event Felipe Pena won a very tightly contested thirty minute bout against Nick Rodriguez. It was a titanic bout that was so evenly matched that neither could complete an attack. Mr Rodriguez got very close with two guard passes and two nice leg lock attempts. Mr Peña got close with two attempts to take the back, one of which was very close. It was was a very difficult match to score but the judges favored Mr Pena – either way it was a great match and both athletes did very well to press their attacks against such tough opposition. It's great to see a big venue being filled for a Saturday night of grappling – this sport is growing well!
