New Wave Jiu-Jitsu coach John Danaher recently revealed his early selections for his CJI 2 team.
Check out the early selections below and Danaher’s thoughts on picking his team.
John Danaher Talks Picking Team For CJI 2
In an exclusive interview with Flograppling, John Danaher shared his preemptive picks for CJI 2. He also shared some obvious news, such as Gordon Ryan and Nicholas Meregali will not be joining the team.
“Gordon (Ryan) is very sick at this point, so I don’t believe he’ll be competing again. Nicholas (Meregali) is very badly injured… his first shoulder surgery was not as successful as people were hoping for. So he had to do a second shoulder surgery, so he definitely won’t be ready in time. So those two are simply just not there, so that kinda makes some of the decisions easier. We only really have one remaining heavyweight, that’s big Dan (Manasoiu) so that’s an obvious choice. Luke is our only 99 kg fighter, so Luke Griffith will be an obvious choice.”
John then revealed his choices for the 66 kg and 88 kg spot: “Giancarlo (Bodoni) of course would be a prime choice at middleweight. I believe Dorian Olivarez would be an amazing addition at 66kg, I think his particular style of Jiu-Jitsu is extremely well-suited to the CJI event. He’d be a natural pick.”- John Danaher.
Current Team New Wave Lineup
Here are John Danaher’s current selections for Team New Wave.
- 66 kg: Dorian Olivarez
- 77 kg: Team Trials Winner
- 88 kg: Giancarlo Bodoni
- -99 kg: Luke Griffith
- +99 kg: Dan Manasoiu
Team Trials For 77 Kg Spot
Danaher will be following Lachlan Giles’s lead and will be holding team trials for the 77 kg spot. New Wave has a lot of talent at 77 kg, so we might see some competitive matches if they’re aired.
Danaher had this to say about the 77 kg spot: “That leaves (77kg), which is… that would be the most difficult one because you have Oliver Taza, you have Davis Asare, you have Izaak Michell, and Jason Nolf, and also possibly a draft pick; the wildcard draft. I guess I’m speculating here, but I guess we’d have to have an internal trial in the gym because all of them want to go.”- John Danaher.
Some of the possible competitors for the team trials event include:
- Jason Nolf
- Oliver Taza
- Davis Asare
- Garry Tonon
- Izaak Mitchell
Despite not having Gordon Ryan or Nicholas Meregali, this a very formative team consisting of ADCC champions and medalists.
Bobby is martial artist for almost 20 years with a BJJ black belt under Professor Sergio Miranda. He is also a karate black and former combat sports athlete, who loves all things grappling.