Matheus Diniz and Murilo Santana met 6 times on record, and the series is split 3-3 with no draws. What makes it a real rivalry is the timeline. Santana took the first three meetings from 2015 into 2016, and Diniz took the last three from 2016 through 2019. If you line it up chronologically, this is a story of one man closing a gap and then reversing it.

The two men decided their meetings in different ways, and that tells you something about their games. All 3 of Santana's wins came early, and 2 of them were finishes: a Choke at the 2016 IBJJF Pan Championship and an Armbar at the 2015 IBJJF Boston Spring Open. Diniz never finished Santana across their 6 meetings. His 3 wins came on points twice and by decision once, so when he turned the series around he did it by controlling the score rather than hunting the tap.

That fits their broader records. Santana finishes 49% of his recorded wins and his most frequent finish is the armbar with 17 wins. Diniz finishes 38% of his recorded wins, leaning on the gi choke from back with 6. In this rivalry the finisher landed the submissions early, and the points fighter had the last word.