Submission wrestling has reached new heights within the last few years. This Sunday, May 12, features one of the most notable events as Chael Sonnen’s Submission Underground Grappling makes its debut on UFC Fight Pass. The event will feature notable MMA competitors, as well as something completely unorthodox – tag team grappling.

The event takes place at the Roseland Theater in Portland, Oregon. As this is the 8th event for Submission Underground, the success seems to piling up and attracting many new viewers. The submission style matches will be entirely streamed on UFC Fight Pass at 6:00 pm ET (3:00 pm PT).

The Main Event

The main event for SUG 8 will feature undefeated Bellator prospect and welterweight contender Austin Vanderford taking on long-time grappling sensation and former Strikerforce middleweight Champion Jake Shields. This fight has talent written all over it. Experienced MMA competitor and grappling pro, Shields will look to leverage his experience over relative newcomer Vanderford.

Vanderford has seen immediate success in his MMA career, going 7-0 in the past two years. His last victory over Cody Jones at Bellator 215 has set him on a platform to compete against the best in the division. The majority of Vanderford’s victories have come by submission in the first round. The Oregon native will look to continue his momentum with a victory over one of the best in the world.

Main Card Featured Bouts

The event will feature a match between UFC veterans Jake Ellenberger and Diego Sanchez. The two have fought before, in 2012 at UFC on Fuel TV 1. Additional matches include long time MMA veteran Dennis Hallman taking on on Melbourne’s Craig Jones, Pat Healy grappling against former Strikeforce Champion and UFC veteran Gilbert Melendez, and a heavyweight match between Fabiano Scherner and Matt Mitrione.

Hardcore Jiu-jitsu fans will be excited to see the return of Craig Jones to SUG. After winning 2017 ADCC against grappling-ace Leandro Lo, Jones has become of the sports biggest modern stars. His last appearance at SUG 5 saw him take out Ben Egli via heel hook in an exciting tilt.

The heavyweight match originally featured grappling world champion Fabiano Scherner and former UFC Heavyweight Champion Frank Mir. However due to injury Frank Mir had to withdraw. Now, Fabiano Scherner will take on knock-out ace Matt Mitrione, in the events heavyweight bout.

Tag Team Grappling

The most notable part of the event might be the unique tag-team portion of the event. Eight two-person teams will compete against each, with the ability to tag their teammates in. Some key rules for the event are as follows:

Maximum combined weight of each team can be no more than 350lbs

A match is scheduled for 8 minutes

The team with the most submissions at the end of the 8 minutes wins

Any teammate not engaged in the match, must have either one hand or one foot against the cage wall between their designated coloe corner barriers

Should a competitor initiate a tag, they must do so by touching their teammate’s hand or foot to allow the teammate to leave the cage wall and engage in the action. At the point of tagging, the competitor who initiated it has 3 seconds to disengage from the match and then they must immediately place themselves back between their color corner barriers on the cage wall until tagged back in.

As expected from MMA’s Chael Sonnen – expect the unexpected.

Main Card – UFC Fight Pass (6 pm ET)

Jake Shields def. Austin Vanderford via Escaping in the Least Amount of Time in OT

Jake Ellenberger def. Diego Sanchez via Escaping in the Least Amount of Time in OT



Fabiano Scherner def. Matt Mitrione via Armbar – 0:34 in OTR 1

Craig Jones def. Dennis Hallman via Toehold – 0:12 in R1

Gilbert Melendez def. Pat Healy via Escaping in the Least Amount of Time in OT



Team Courier def. Team Heart via Crowd Applause

Team SBG def. Team Combat Sports Academy via 6 Submissions to 1

Micah Brakefield def. Shaun Kiatvongcharoen via Kneebar – 1:10 in R1

Team Impact def. Team Titan via Crowd Applause

Team BTT Happy Planet def. Team 10th Planet via 3 Submissions to 0

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Follow MMASucka for the live results covering the event.