BJJ Beats Sambo! Brazilian Rodrigo Marello Demolishes Russian Sambo Champion to Make History With Nasty 15-Second Submission Win at ONE 161

Top BJJ black belt Rodrigo “Diguinho” Marello couldn’t have asked for a better ONE Championship debut.

On Thursday at ONE 161, the Brazilian secured the fastest submission grappling victory in ONE Championship history with his sensational 15-second foot lock on Sambo Champion Ruslan Bagdasarian.

After a quick slap-and-bump handshake, Marello immediately gripped his rival’s hands, preventing him from initiating any grips.

Intelligently avoiding Bagdasarian’s world-class takedowns, “Diguinho” quickly sat to guard and pulled the Russian into what is called a De La Riva guard, with his left leg wrapped around the Russian’s right.

In the blink of an eye, Marello secured his opponent’s ankle in a deep grip, using his own hip as a wedge to tighten the hold.

Read More – “Made That Look Easy” – MMA Fans Shook as Tiffany Teo Submits Ritu Phogat With Seconds Left on the Clock at ONE 161

As Bagdasarian fell, Marello cranked the foot at an extreme angle, using the strength of his legs, hips, and back to apply an immense amount of braking force on the ankle and foot. The Russian realized he couldn’t escape, thus forcing him to tap in just a quarter of a minute.

Commonly referred to as the “Caio Terra footlock” or a “De La Riva footlock,” Marello’s record-setting submission is a unique one, as it employs outside leg positioning, while the vast majority of typical leg locks require inside positioning.

Rodrigo Marello beats a Russian Sambo champion in 15 seconds at ONE 161

What makes the submission even more impressive is the fact that it came against a sambo specialist. After all, the Russian martial art makes heavy use of a wide variety of leg locks that a champion like Bagdasarian is undoubtedly well versed in.

With this spectacular win, the Evolve MMA representative has announced himself as a threat in ONE Championship’s rapidly expanding submission grappling division.

Two men who are likely to have noticed Marello’s performance are fellow BJJ black belts Mikey “Darth Rigatoni” Musumeci and Cleber “Clandestino” Sousa, who are set to battle for the first-ever ONE Submission Grappling World Championship on Friday at ONE on Prime Video 2.

That match is set to go down at flyweight, while Marello and Bagdasarian grappled in the weight class above – that being bantamweight.

Read More – 23-Year-Old Tawanchai Pk.Saenchai Ends 965 Days Reign of Muay Thai Great to Become World Champion at ONE 161

And by that same token, Marello is sure to tune in to see Musumeci and Sousa’s showdown, knowing that he could soon find himself also competing for a ONE Submission Grappling World Title, and quite possibly against whoever wins that match-up.