Rivalry · 5 recorded meetings
Eliot Kelly vs James Puopolo
Head-to-head record
0
Eliot
5
James
Did you know?
- Puopolo won all 5 recorded meetings, and 4 of them ended by submission.
- The Kneebar, Puopolo's most successful finish overall with 16 wins, accounted for 2 of his 4 submissions over Kelly.
- Three of the five meetings happened in 2013, including two at World Jiu-Jitsu Expo events.
- Puopolo finishes 59% of his wins by submission, while Kelly finishes 19% of his by submission, a gap that showed up directly in these matches.
- Two of the meetings were finals and one was a semi-final, so their rivalry played out largely at the sharp end of brackets.
The rivalry
This is a one-sided rivalry on paper. James Puopolo holds a 5-0 record against Eliot Kelly across their recorded meetings, and four of those five wins came by submission. The pairing was concentrated in 2013, when they met three times, before finishing with bouts in 2015 and 2018.
The methods tell the story of how Puopolo closed matches. He tapped Kelly twice with the Kneebar at the 2013 IBJJF World Jiu Jitsu Expo and again in a separate 2013 Expo matchup, then finished with a Guillotine Choke in the final of the 2013 World Jiu-Jitsu No-Gi IBJJF Championships and a Triangle Choke in the final of the 2015 American Nationals No-Gi. Their last meeting, the semi-finals of the 2018 World IBJJF Jiu-Jitsu No-Gi Championship, went to points rather than a finish.
The broader profiles fit that pattern. Puopolo carries a 54% win rate with 59% of his wins by submission, while Kelly sits at a 26% win rate with 19% of his wins by submission on record. Most of these matches were contested no-gi, with only the two Expo bouts in the gi.
Career stats
| Stat | Eliot | James |
|---|---|---|
| Recorded matches | 90 | 134 |
| Record (W-L-D) | 23-66-1 | 71-63-0 |
| Win rate | 26% | 53% |
| Submission rate (of wins) | 22% | 59% |
| Favorite finish | unknown (2) | Kneebar (16) |
Their matches
James Puopolo def Eliot Kelly
by Points · 2018 IBJJF World No-Gi Championship · Dec 2018
James Puopolo def Eliot Kelly
by Triangle Choke · 2015 IBJJF American National Jiu-Jitsu No-Gi Championship · Jul 2015
James Puopolo def Eliot Kelly
by Guillotine Choke · 2013 IBJJF World No-Gi Championship · Dec 2013
James Puopolo def Eliot Kelly
by Kneebar · 2013 IBJJF World Jiu Jitsu Expo · Nov 2013
James Puopolo def Eliot Kelly
by Kneebar · 2013 World Jiu-Jitsu Expo · Nov 2013
