Carlos Machado “Winter Wars” 2006

On February 4, 2006, while Brandon Vera was showing off his considerable skills in the UFC octagon and taking another step towards a title shot, other members of Team Lloyd Irvin were in Dallas, Texas, competing in Carlos Machado’s 4th annual “Winter Wars” tournament.

This tournament featured some interesting deviations from the standard competition format. Most notably was the double elimination bracketing system and a lack of advantages (near sweeps, passes, and submissions).

Phil Weslow Shows Off Impressive Judo, Wins 12-minute War!

Phil Weslow was Team Lloyd Irvin’s representative in the blue middleweight division.

In the opening round, Phil would defeat his opponent by a comfortable margin, passing the guard multiple times and securing a brabo choke just as time expired to move on. In the second round, Phil would fight an absolute war with an opponent from Raphael Lovato Jr.’s academy. Due to the special tournament rules that did not allow advantages, Phil’s many near guard passes in regulation did not decide the match as they would have at many other tournaments. As a result, the match continued into overtime. When an extra 3 minute period was not enough to decide the victor, a final, second overtime period commenced. In the opening minute, Phil’s opponent shot in and picked up one of Phil’s legs for a single leg takedown. Just as it looked like Phil would be taken down, all but sealing the match for his opponent, Phil turned out, secured an over grip on his opponent’s gi, and launched him with a high amplitude uchi mata counter! With all eyes on this match, the crowd went wild as Carlos Machado awarded Phil the two points that would decide the match.

In the semi-finals, Phil would face an opponent who had received a bye through the prior round. Showing the effects of the 12 minute battle that he had just been through, Phil would fight hard, but his opponent took the decision by a narrow margin of points.

In the 3rd place match, Phil would have yet another hard fought battle, but again it would go to a fresher opponent by a narrow margin. Phil was able to get to his dangerous half guard, but was unable to finish a sweep before time expired.

Ryan Hall Takes Bronze in the Blue Belt Lightweight and Blue Absolute

In the blue belt lightweight division, Ryan Hall was surprised with a first round loss, but was able to wrestle back through the out bracket, defeating all three of his opponents there in convincing fashion. After sweeping his first opponent twice, Ryan was able to slap on a tight triangle and finish for the win in about 2 minutes. Ryan’s next two matches were almost identical, as Ryan submitted his opponents in about one minute apiece with his now infamous triangle. After winning three matches in rapid succession, Ryan would take 3rd place and immediately jump into the absolute division.

In the blue belt absolute semi-finals, Ryan would face off against a tough wrestler from Lovato’s in Oklahoma, Justin Rader, in one of the best matches of the day. Right off the bat, Ryan pulled guard and went to work on submissions as his opponent attempted to bull fight around Ryan’s guard. After an endless series of granby rolls, submission attacks, and near passes, Justin attempted to jump onto Ryan’s back. Ryan defended perfectly, attacking with a kneebar and attempting to sweep. As Justin defended the sweep, Ryan was able to regain his inverted guard and attack again, but in a scramble, he was passed for 3 points. Ryan immediately worked to escape, taking Justin’s back from underneath side control! Before points could be awarded, though, Ryan slid off to attack an armbar that Justin was able to defend. In the final minute, both competitors attacked without regard for time or the score, but the match would end 3-0 in favor of Justin.

Though Ryan was ready to fight for 3rd, he would end up taking it by default as his opponent was unable to continue.

Julius Park Dominates the Purple Middleweight Division, Goes Unscored Upon!

Julius Park entered the purple belt middleweight division, competing for the first time this year. In his opening match, Julius quieted any question about mat rust as he submitted his opponent via kneebar in 12 seconds! In the second round, Julius ran up the score, taking his opponent down and sweeping him twice as well to advance to the final match by a score of 6-0.

In the finals, Julius would sit to his x-guard and hit his patented sweep from that position to take the lead 2-0. Once on top, Julius would work tirelessly to pass his opponent’s guard, and was successful just as time expired. Though Julius was not awarded points for his pass, on the strength of his sweep from earlier in the match, Julius would take the match 2-0, making him the middleweight champion!

We here at Team Lloyd Irvin are proud of all our competitors who put it on the line this weekend. Ryan and Phil have been traveling all over to fight lately, and having Julius back on the competition scene is a great bonus. Look forward to bigger things in the near future.