Who is the best welterweight grappler in the world? That’s the question being answered at Polaris 38. PJ Barch won the Welterweight Grand Prix in 2024, and is looking to repeat with his mix of wrestling and top pressure. Vicious leg lockers Taylor Pearman and Mateusz Szczecinski want to break their way to victory. Michael Liera Jr and Tommy Langaker try to entangle their opponents in their impenetrable guards. Deandre Corbe cuts through guards like a hot knife through butter, and will put those guards to the test. Sebastian Patyk and Carson Coles might be the new guys, but they are eager to prove that they belong in the big leagues. After 7 matches, the last man standing will be crowned and collect $30,000 to boot. And if that’s not enough action for you, Sarah Galvao and Zara di Tofano compete in a superfight for the Women’s Bantamweight Title. We break it all down now!
Match 1: Mateusz Szczecinski vs Deandre Corbe
Mateusz Szczecinski was supposed to be on Polaris 37 as part of the Polaris All Stars, but the whole team got food poisoning at a famous Irish MMA fighter’s restaurant. Mateusz had it the worst and had to pull out of the event, which is a real shame, because he has an excellent game. He’ll get another chance to showcase his skills starting with his match against Deandre Corbe.文章源自武享吧-https://hula8.net/jujitsu/77251.html
Mateusz might have the best straight ankle lock in the world right now, and he pairs it with berimbolo back takes to devastating effect. He is Flograppling’s #6 ranked grappler at 170lbs and was invited to the 2026 ADCC World Championships. Corbe, ranked #13 at 170, has excellent wrestling, heavy top pressure, and is extremely well rounded. He trains under Greg Souders, of Ecological Jiu Jitsu or the Constraints Led Approach fame, and is considered his most successful student. He burst onto the scene winning ADCC West Coast Trials in 2024 and has proved he belongs. I think Mateusz will likely pull guard which should avoid some of Corbe’s strengths. The battle to watch is can Corbe pass Mateusz’s guard while staying safe, or will Mateusz find his grips and get the finish. My money is on Mateusz catching Corbe.文章源自武享吧-https://hula8.net/jujitsu/77251.html
Match 2: Carson Coles vs Michael Liera Jr
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Carson Coles is an up and coming UK grappler from 10th Planet Bristol. As you’d expect, he has a modern no-gi game based around leg locks, wrestling and passing. He also has no fear. Talking about Mateusz Szczecinski he said: “What’s the worst that can happen? He can break my leg or my arm… I’ve been compromised in matches before where I’ve had things broken.” Before any potential match with Mateusz, he first has to get through Michael Liera Jr, an Atos black belt with a beautiful guard game that works in both gi and no-gi. Liera is an IBJJF Pans and European champion who has been competing at the highest levels for over a decade. Liera has 122 recorded wins on BJJ Heroes vs 64 wins for Carson on Smoothcomp, so Carson has a lot of experience to overcome here. I can see this going either way but I suspect the hungry youngster gets it done.文章源自武享吧-https://hula8.net/jujitsu/77251.html
Match 3: PJ Barch vs Taylor Pearman
PJ Barch, Flo’s #5 ranked 170lber, is the defending Polaris Welterweight Grand Prix Champion from 2024. Another 10th Planet black belt, under Richie Martinez, PJ was originally a wrestler before finding Jiu Jitsu. He uses that wrestling to heavily pressure his opponents, but is more than capable of lightning quick counter leglocks, especially falling back on heel hooks from the leg drag position.文章源自武享吧-https://hula8.net/jujitsu/77251.html
Taylor Pearman, ranked #18 by Flo, out of Stealth BJJ, was the captain of Team Polaris at Polaris 37 and had 5 matches in a row in the “winner stays on” format, leading them to victory. Pearman’s main weapon is his leg locks, chaining heel hooks, ankle and aoki locks, knee bars, and a calf slicer variation, the Pear Trap. Pearman and PJ should have a great match. Both can find a submission in an instant, but I think PJ is more well rounded and more likely to capitalize on a mistake and win on points.文章源自武享吧-https://hula8.net/jujitsu/77251.html
Match 4: Sebastian Patyk vs Tommy Langaker
Sebastian Patyk won his spot in this tournament through the Polaris Open Contender Series. He is part of the new wave of elite Polish grapplers being showcased on Polaris alongside Mateusz Szczecinski, Pavel Jaworski, Marcin Maciukewicz, et al. That wave may break on the shores of Tommy Langaker and his unpassable guard. Tommy was world class in the gi as multiple time IBJJF European champion, before switching to no-gi and winning IBJJF No-Gi Europeans in 2023. Tommy often uses his guard offensively to shoot up triangles and take the back. I’d favor Tommy’s experience to help him advance here.文章源自武享吧-https://hula8.net/jujitsu/77251.html
History
Here are the competitors’ head to head history with links to some of the best matches from the past.文章源自武享吧-https://hula8.net/jujitsu/77251.html
PJ vs Mateusz at ADCC 2024-Close match until PJ gets a late takedown to win by points, 2-0.文章源自武享吧-https://hula8.net/jujitsu/77251.html
PJ vs Mateusz Polaris 31– Mateusz snaps on a shotgun armbar and finishes PJ in less than 10 seconds.文章源自武享吧-https://hula8.net/jujitsu/77251.html
PJ, Mateusz, and Tommy have all been invited to ADCC World Championships this year, so there is more to come even after this Grand Prix.
Prediction
Women’s Bantamweight Title
Sarah Galvao just turned 20 which is crazy because she’s been winning everything for years. She’s Flograppling’s #3 ranked 145lber, and has a list of achievements from BJJHeroes a mile long.
我们大家共同的家，