How impressive was it at the time? Was he a well known dude or did he come out of no where?
Where did he rank against the top guys of that time?
he wasn’t well known at large and IIRC he was a brown belt at that time. He was being touted as a renzo product but in reality was a product of SBG (McGregor’s coach Kavanaugh and Karl Tanswell) Europe, as he would also travel to NYC to crosstrain w Renzo’s crew.
His won over Jeff monson was insane
One year he had Xande in a hella tight guillotine too. I remember being surprised it didn’t finish and I think Xande won the match.
He tapped David Avellan that year as well, which is a great win. Say what you will about him, but Avellan was a very successful grappler at the time.
Hunter V - he wasn't well known at large and IIRC he was a brown belt at that time. He was being touted as a renzo product but in reality was a product of SBG (McGregor's coach Kavanaugh and Karl Tanswell) Europe, as he would also travel to NYC to crosstrain w Renzo's crew.
Interesting I always thought he was a Renzo guy.
The Closed Guard -Hunter V - he wasn't well known at large and IIRC he was a brown belt at that time. He was being touted as a renzo product but in reality was a product of SBG (McGregor's coach Kavanaugh and Karl Tanswell) Europe, as he would also travel to NYC to crosstrain w Renzo's crew.Interesting I always thought he was a Renzo guy.
Remix awarded him his black. Don't know what the deal was there.
Renzo
He was fairly well known. He was one of the top European MMA prospects. He honestly didn’t do very well in his weightclass at ADCC. IIRC he got eliminated in the first round. He was selected for the open weight division not because of his performance, but because he is from Iceland and the org was looking for global representation (source: him in an interview I heard years ago). His win over Monson was impressive though. Gunnie is a beast.
cdmontgo - He was fairly well known. He was one of the top European MMA prospects. He honestly didn't do very well in his weightclass. IIRC he got eliminated in the first round. He was selected for the open weight division not because of his performance, but because he is from Iceland and the org was looking for global representation (source: him in an interview I heard years ago). His win over Monson was impressive though. Gunnie is a beast.
Him and my coach travelled to Renzos together and trained there for almost a year. Both came up through SBG. Gunni with John and my coach with Karl.
When they first met they were both purple belts and ended up becoming training partners.
He went white to brown under Kavanaugh and then got his black of Renzo right? But there was some controversy’s about renzo giving him the black rather than JK?
LordSeano - He went white to brown under Kavanaugh and then got his black of Renzo right? But there was some controversy’s about renzo giving him the black rather than JK?
Yeah, pretty much. Technically, I think Thornton gave him his blue and purple, but he was training under John. Matt just evaluated him.
John gave him his brown in the cage after an MMA fight that he won.
Renzo gave him his black, but he hadn’t been training under Renzo for very long. I don’t think anyone on the SBG side cares. I think the controversy comes from lineage dorks. Honestly, either lineage makes him reputable. Plus, you can watch him roll and listen to him speak, and you’ll realize he knows what’s up.
cawsie77 -cdmontgo - He was fairly well known. He was one of the top European MMA prospects. He honestly didn't do very well in his weightclass. IIRC he got eliminated in the first round. He was selected for the open weight division not because of his performance, but because he is from Iceland and the org was looking for global representation (source: him in an interview I heard years ago). His win over Monson was impressive though. Gunnie is a beast.Him and my coach travelled to Renzos together and trained there for almost a year. Both came up through SBG. Gunni with John and my coach with Karl.
When they first met they were both purple belts and ended up becoming training partners.
Who is your coach?
cdmontgo -cawsie77 -cdmontgo - He was fairly well known. He was one of the top European MMA prospects. He honestly didn't do very well in his weightclass. IIRC he got eliminated in the first round. He was selected for the open weight division not because of his performance, but because he is from Iceland and the org was looking for global representation (source: him in an interview I heard years ago). His win over Monson was impressive though. Gunnie is a beast.Him and my coach travelled to Renzos together and trained there for almost a year. Both came up through SBG. Gunni with John and my coach with Karl.
When they first met they were both purple belts and ended up becoming training partners.
Who is your coach?
cawsie77 -cdmontgo -cawsie77 -cdmontgo - He was fairly well known. He was one of the top European MMA prospects. He honestly didn't do very well in his weightclass. IIRC he got eliminated in the first round. He was selected for the open weight division not because of his performance, but because he is from Iceland and the org was looking for global representation (source: him in an interview I heard years ago). His win over Monson was impressive though. Gunnie is a beast.Him and my coach travelled to Renzos together and trained there for almost a year. Both came up through SBG. Gunni with John and my coach with Karl.
When they first met they were both purple belts and ended up becoming training partners.
Who is your coach?
Kenny Baker. Went to brown under Karl Tanswell. Black from braulio. Was strange back then hearing about this coach called ‘John danaher!’ No one had heard of him!!