Felipe Pena and Luke Griffith will battle for the WNO heavyweight belt at WNO 28 after Gordon Ryan vacated the title.
The Who’s Number One (WNO) heavyweight title will be up for grabs on June 13 at WNO 28.
That night, from Costa Mesa, California, current ADCC +99kg champion Felipe Pena will square off with ADCC silver medalist Luke Griffith for the organization’s heavyweight crown, which now sits vacant after former titleholder Gordon Ryan stepped away from competition. FloGrappling reported the matchup and news about Ryan’s decision to vacate the title.
The clash between Pena and Griffith marks a rematch of the pair’s bout in the final of the +99kg division at the 2024 ADCC World Championships. In that match, Pena found himself in a difficult spot early, only to quickly turn the tide and score a stunning rear-naked choke victory to become a two-time ADCC World champion.
In his only match since ADCC 2024, at WNO 25, Pena picked up a guillotine choke finish over ADCC Trials winner Declan Moody.
For his part, Griffith will come into the contest fresh off the biggest win of his career. In April, at WNO 27, he weathered an early storm from multiple-time IBJJF world champion Victor Hugo to largely dominate and win a hard-fought decision.
Both Pena and Griffith are two of the heavyweight division’s most skilled all-around grapplers. Pena tends to do his best work from his vaunted open guard, where he will constantly create leg entanglements that typically lead into back-takes or sweeps to the top position. Griffith, meanwhile, is an excellent takedown artist and guard passer, but has proven himself to be a dangerous submission hunter from both top and bottom positions – and is one of the division’s best overall athletes.
This match joins a previously announced main event WNO middleweight title match between defending champion Jonnatas Gracie and welterweight titleholder Mica Galvao.
Check out the current WNO 28 lineup below.
WNO 28
Jonnatas Gracie (c) vs. Mica Galvao (WNO middleweight title)
Luke Griffith vs. Felipe Pena (WNO heavyweight title)
Declan Moody vs. Fellipe Andrew (light heavyweight)
Kyle Chambers vs. Victor Silverio (welterweight)
Paige Ivette vs. Kauane Ramos (heavyweight)
How to watch: WNO 28 takes place on Friday, June 13, and will air live on FloGrappling (subscription required).
