1) Bring back matches in the gi.

– What the heck in the universe are you thinking by completely abandoning BJJ in the gi?! We were surprised by it at Metamoris 3. We were teased with it at Metamoris 4 when we were given a match of legends in the gi in with Saulo Ribeiro and Rodrigo “Comprido” Medeiros. As exciting as it was, much of the action took place on the feet, neither fighter wanting to succumb to the takedown efforts of the other. I can’t be the only one who was left with the impression that BJJ in the gi was, “the old way”.

To clarify, Metamoris 3 had few matches in the gi. This would cause 2 opinions to emerge. Opinion group 1 would say, “There were no matches in the gi, and I’m happy with this” and group 2 would say, “There were no matches in the gi and I’m unhappy with this”. Metamoris 4 comes around and the gi is given another try, and the result is a not the most exciting matchup in the world coming from the seasoned veterans. Now the anti-gi people can say, “See? Look how slow/boring the gi came is”.

*Sigh*

2 out of 6 matches in the kimono would make any BJJ player happy (using myself as a litmus test). I was excited for Metamoris 5 don’t get me wrong. But it would have been 10x more exciting if there were at least a few more high level submission only gi matches going down from some of the card’s superstars.

2) Bring back ladies matches.

– Seriously. It is almost becoming weird that there were ladies in the second event, but none in the last 3. The ladies match was epic and action-packed. There are tons of ladies practicing BJJ! It is awkward to not see them represented in a sport that demands equality, especially on the mats. Gi or no gi, please bring back at least one ladies match if not more!

3) Make the “secret match” a bit more compelling.

– This has to be something stellar and shocking. Let’s say for instance you tell me a secret, “tomorrow it will be cold”. That is fine and well, but it is certainly not something that needed to be kept a secret. I enjoyed the both Metamoris secret matches for sure! Jeff Glover follows us and we are fans of both him and Baret Yoshida. Jake Shields and Roberto Satoshi are a good matchup as well but when I hear “secret match” I’m thinking something that would need to be kept secret; like nuclear weapon launch codes or something similar. Again, this is no stab at Jeff, Baret, Jake or Roberto but it seems that Metamoris secret matches are between a relatively known fighter versus someone who is not as widely known as their opponent. Renzo vs Sakuraba is a fantastic main event! However this caliber of match is what I think many of us are hoping for when we hear “secret” match.

4) Bring Back Rener.

– I know Metamoris brass doesn’t want the event to come off as having a greatly biased slant toward the Gracie Family that started the event (and um…the UFC). Trust me. Everyone is cool with having the Gracie Family attached to any Martial Arts event. Some of us will even go so far as to say that it lends credence to the event!

Rener’s commentary was absolutely spot on and detailed! During the match with Roger Gracie and Buchecha he was explaining each grip and predicting what each fighter was thinking and intending to do. I would like some more of that please.

5) Please make the event feel aesthetically ominous again.

– The early Metamoris venues were dark and ominous emitting a sense of danger, because of the background darkness and the elevated brightly lit mat. The simulated “no escape” feeling kind of goes by the wayside when I can see the door in the background. It can’t be that bad if I can just run out the front door. From a production standpoint this is something that should perhaps be considered in the future. When you watch a UFC event that doesn’t have many people in attendance, they will pan the cameras in specific ways that are always sure to keep the viewer from seeing the empty seats. Metamoris’ will constantly be sold out events. There are camera tricks that can be utilized to keep the front entrance out of streaming audience view.

– Tony Peranio WBBJJ