Silver lining for Borderlands at the NAGA England Championship

The University of Wolverhampton Walsall Campus Sports Arena played host to the highly anticipated NAGA England Grappling and BJJ Championship this past weekend, drawing top-tier competitors from across the UK. Among those stepping onto the mats was Borderlands Grappling’s own Damian, who endured a grueling, multi-division marathon to bring home two hard-earned silver medals.

A strong start in No-Gi

Damian kicked off his campaign in the No-Gi 3-man Round Robin division. He started in fantastic form, putting on a technical display to outpoint his first opponent. With barely a moment to catch his breath under NAGA’s rapid-fire scheduling, he was called straight back out for his second match. Damian looked to secure a finish by attacking a banana split from half guard. However, his opponent managed to counter, jumping over the guard to lock in a tight D'Arce choke. Despite a gritty effort to fight out of the submission, Damian was forced to tap, securing a well-deserved silver medal for the division.

He immediately carried that momentum into the Open No-Gi Absolute division. Facing another rapid turnaround, Damian ran into a highly experienced, active white belt who competes monthly. In a closely contested match, Damian was knocked out on points by the competitor, who ultimately went on to take silver.

Facing adversity in the Gi divisions

As the tournament transitioned to the Gi categories, Damian faced an uphill battle after being moved up a weight class. The bump in size, combined with an intense adrenaline dump, made for an incredibly tough opening match that went to his opponent on points.

His second match set up a rematch with the high-level competitor from the Absolute division. Damian fought valiantly, pushing the pace until the final seconds, but was ultimately caught in a sharp armbar with just 20 seconds left on the clock. His opponent went on to claim the gold medal.

Fighting through fatigue for Absolute silver

Showing the true spirit of Borderlands Grappling, a completely exhausted Damian pushed forward into his final event: the Open Weight Gi Absolute. After being pushed straight through to the semifinals, Damian put on a masterclass, entirely dominating his opponent on points to punch his ticket to the final.

Waiting for him in the final was a massive 115kg opponent. Running on empty, Damian relied on pure strategy. He pulled collar-and-sleeve guard and quickly locked up an armbar. The heavyweight managed to slip out, using his weight advantage to pass Damian’s guard and apply heavy cross-collar pressure from Kesa-Gatame.

After surviving underneath the crushing pressure for what felt like a lifetime, Damian exploded out to his feet. In the final 30 seconds, with his opponent backing away, Damian rolled the dice with a spectacular Imanari roll, successfully catching the leg. Though time ran out before he could finish the submission, Damian's late-stage effort secured him his second silver medal of the day.

It was a phenomenal performance that made the whole academy proud.