Nicholas Meregali and Vagner Rocha are set to compete against each other in a heavyweight submission-only match, headlining the upcoming Who’s Number One event (WNO 23) on Friday, May 10.
However, some in the BJJ community have been quite critical of the matchup, saying that Rocha isn’t an adequate opponent for Meregali – mainly due to his age.
Meregali took it upon himself to defend his opponent:
Vagner has 3 ADCC medals and his record is solid.
He won major titles and he had beaten so many best guys in the World in the last years.
The defeats he had were mainly in matches where the opponents did nothing to him, defeats due to the referee’s decision, or just 1 score.He fought the best guys in the world and these guys couldn’t barely beat him or control him, the fights were always tough for both sides.
He’s doing well on the mats, he’s promoting himself well off the mats, and he’s a solid opponent to face me, that’s why I asked for his name.
Meregali continues:
If you think there is another guy much better than him, research how his fight went against the names you are talking about, I guarantee that the fights were close and Vagner won or lost in a tied decision.
I make ADCC champions look like children in my hands and with Vagner, it won’t be different.
Just because I’m far beyond my opponents doesn’t mean they’re not legit, Vagner is a decorated athlete.
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