2015 Grand Slam Rio de Janeiro

Did you know?

• ▸ Across 32 recorded matchups at the 2015 Grand Slam Rio de Janeiro, 14 finished by submission for a submission rate of 44 percent. For an event with a deep absolute bracket, that is a high finishing rate and tells you this field came to hunt taps, not ride advantages.
• ▸ The most common submission on record here was the Gi Choke From Back with 4 finishes, ahead of the Armbar at 3. Back exposure paid off more than any other position, which lines up with how the modern gi game rewards taking the back and staying there.
• ▸ Erberth Santos led all competitors with 9 recorded wins at this event, 4 of them by submission. That combination of volume and finishing across brackets is what separated him from the rest of the field.
• ▸ Ricardo Evangelista closed out two Finals on record, submitting Herico Hesley with a Gi Choke From Back in the Absolute Division and Victor Honório with an Armbar at Super Heavyweight. Both titles came by tap rather than points, which is rare at the heavier weights.
• ▸ Paulo Miyao took the Featherweight Final over Rodolfo Vieira by Advantage. When a match against a grappler of that caliber comes down to a single advantage, it says the margins at the top of this bracket were paper thin.