Submissions rule black belt matches of Ballroom Blitz

The 2026 Trench Tech Ballroom Blitz Grappler’s Gala was a night where class met gera, with fighters from the CNMI, Guam, Korea, and the U.S. taking the spotlight on stage in a hotel setting—the Crowne Plaza Resort Saipan—on Saturday, Mar. 28, for the first time in about a decade. To end the night with a bang, the final showdowns featured three black belt fights, all of which treated the audience to heart-stopping submissions.

There were no judges and points in this event, as organizers from Trench Tech wanted grapplers to give and leave their all on the mats. It was submission or nothing. In the last match of the night, South Korea’s Shin Jiseop and CNMI’s Clinton “Sapinho” Dela Cruz gave the audience their money’s worth as both worked to get the advantage. Dela Cruz, in front of his home crowd, tried to take down Shin, but they went through a series of scrambles before Jiseop secured a rare dogbar, forcing the tap at 8:09 in the match that was set for 10 minutes.

Before that, in light heavyweight, DJ “Kimura Kid” Jackson wasted no time, quickly taking control and locking in a kimura—true to his moniker, on Kim Min Seong just 1:05 into the match—a common submission, but the quick finish made it stand out.

The first black belt fight of the night featured Park Do Hyun in the middleweight division, and he worked through a back-and-forth battle before catching an opening and finishing Tyrone “Busy Bones” Jones with a kneebar at 6:44.

The event also featured an open belt hybrid division, where different belts matched up and took on the mats. Guam’s Sage Garcia submitted CNMI’s Jason Atrero via rear-naked choke at 2:49; Saipan native Roman “The Sonic Boom” Alvarez submitted Guam’s Sean Mendiola via kimura at 3:51; and in the heavyweight superfight, Guam’s Roque Martinez defeated CNMI’s Kier “The Radical Kid” Agda via head and arm choke at 1:22.

The only other submission was in the white belt division as James Garcia defeated Bonnie “The Hitman” Sagana via armbar at 4:32.

The rest of the matches showed what patience, technique, and determination on the mats can do, as they ended in draws.

In the brown belt welterweight division, Guam’s Gonzo Quintanilla and CNMI’s Vince “The Clinch” Masga’s match ended in an 8-minute draw. As for the blue and white belt divisions, the draws were the matches of Ernie “Batman” Licop vs. Ballen “The Korean Grappler” Song, Mathew “Ignatius” Salas vs. James Hallisey, Jason “Happy Hour” Camacho vs. James Choi, Melvin “The Palauan Phenom” Ngiratumerang vs. Jacob Yamagishi, Victor “The Storm” Garcia vs. Daryn Roufs, and Jovano “Bano” Taitano vs. Vincent Aguon.

In between, there was also a kickboxing exhibition between Teipo Asep and Jeff Quitugua which ignited the ballroom with a fiery flurry of fists and kicks that ended in a draw.

Trench Tech’s Justis “Cuki” Alvarez said that the return to the ballroom was a success. “We had 15 awesome fights. The night was just spectacular—I wish it didn’t end.”

As for the format and how different this event was, he said, “We decided to treat the fans to something special. This was catered to a more mature audience—it was for 18 years and older and we wanted the adults to come out and play dress up, enjoy a night of awesome fights in a nice, comfortable setting with dinner and cocktail drinks to share with friends and family.”

As for the fighters and the competition, he said he wanted to show the growth of BJJ over the years. “We wanted to showcase the talent not only in our local talent, but talent from around the world, and to show the people in attendance that, even if we’re a small island, we got the talent to compete with the best in the world,” he said.

He then added that there may be a Ballroom Blitz 2 in the future, as the fans were very receptive.

He then thanked the event's sponsors including MACS, Miller Lite, Hafa Adai Rent-A-Car, IT&E, Century Hotel, Bridge Capital LLC., Atkins Kroll, Fokai, Crank Industries, MVA, Saipan Mayors Office, Red Eye Rebel, and Crowne Plaza Resort Saipan. He also thanked everyone else who made the event possible.