WNO 27 goes down on Friday, April 18, 2025, in Austin, Texas, and is headlined by a heavyweight match between Kaynan Duarte and Nick Rodriguez.
FloGrappling’s Who’s Number One (WNO) will return to action this Friday with a card loaded with compelling matchups.
Duarte vs. Rodriguez
In the main event of WNO 27, four-time ADCC world champion Kaynan Duarte will square off with CJI champion Nick Rodriguez in a battle between two of grappling’s top heavyweight athletes.
Still just 27 years old, Duarte has already cemented himself as an all-time great. A two-time IBJJF world champion in the gi, the Atos representative has excelled under the ADCC ruleset, having claimed gold at each of the last three ADCC World Championships. In 2024, he added ADCC absolute gold to his resume, defeating the likes of perennial pound-for-pound standout Dante Leon and former ADCC absolute champion Roberto “Cyborg” Abreu.
For his part, Rodriguez has spent the past several years solidifying himself among the heavyweight division’s upper echelon. He is a two-time ADCC silver medalist and, in 2024, achieved greatness when he won the +80kg division at the inaugural CJI with a 100 percent finishing rate. In his most recent outing, at the UFC Fight Pass Invitational, Rodriguez suffered a submission loss to fellow heavyweight powerhouse Victor Hugo.
Notably, Duarte holds a pair of victories – one submission and one points win – over the American.
Stylistically, Rodriguez will almost certainly take top position in this 15-minute submission-only affair, where he’ll look to employ his trademark body-lock guard passing and back-takes. Duarte, meanwhile, is a gifted grappler from every position who has a knack for shutting down his opponent’s A-game while methodically working toward dominant position and, if the opportunity presents itself, a submission finish.
Hugo vs. Griffith
Before that, another pivotal heavyweight clash will go down, as Victor Hugo locks horns with New Wave standout Luke Griffith.
Fresh off his sensational victory over Rodriguez at UFC FPI, Hugo has long been regarded as one of the top two or three heavyweights in grappling. Renowned for his dynamic guard game and submission-hunting style, he is an IBJJF gi and no-gi world champion. Despite suffering a surprising first-round exit at last year’s CJI, his win against Rodriguez proved that he remains in the division’s upper echelon.
For his part, Griffith hopes to score the biggest win of his career when he takes on Hugo. A skilled takedown artist and dangerous back-taker, the South African has impressed across a trio of performances at WNO, having won each by way of submission. He’ll look to build on a 2024 ADCC run that saw him take silver in the heavyweight division.
Clay vs. Crevar
Also, fans won’t want to miss the much-anticipated rematch between surging young phenom Helena Crevar and decorated submission artist Elisabeth Clay. This time around, Clay’s WNO featherweight title will be on the line.
The pair first collided at the 2022 ADCC West Coast Trials, with Clay scoring a submission win over the 15-year-old rising star. Since then, Crevar has continued to improve by leaps and bounds, and in 2024, she defeated Aurelie Le Vern and Brianna Ste-Marie to claim second at the ADCC World Championships. The teenage prodigy has all the makings of an all-time great, but Clay is undoubtedly among the sport’s top pound-for-pound competitors.
A multiple-time IBJJF world and Pan no-gi champion, Clay is still just 24 years old but already a veteran of the elite no-gi scene. After sitting out much of 2024 due to pregnancy and the birth of her first child, she has since returned to action and picked up right where she left off, capturing gold at the IBJJF No-Gi Worlds and Pans.
While both women are skilled all-around grapplers, they each tend to do their best work when attacking from the guard, and each is a feared leg locker. With that in mind, this match could play out as a battle of leg entanglements from the double-pull position. If so, the first athlete to make a mistake could find herself on the losing end of this 15-minute clash.
The rest of the card at WNO 27
The remainder of the main card at WNO 27 is populated with elite talent and exciting competitors.
Fan-favorite Andrew Tackett will put his all-action, high-octane style of grappling to the test against an equally aggressive athlete in the always entertaining Fabyrury Khrysthyan. Also, creative submission hunter Owen Jones hopes to make waves in his WNO debut against fellow no-gi specialist Julian Espinosa. And in the first bout of the main card, legendary multiple-time ADCC and IBJJF world champion Alexandre Ribeiro will return to action for the first time since 2022 to take on respected 10th Planet black belt Richie “Boogeyman” Martinez.
View the full lineup of matches at WNO 27 below.
WNO 27 full card lineup
Main card
Kaynan Duarte vs. Nick Rodriguez (heavyweight)
Victor Hugo vs. Luke Griffith (heavyweight)
Elisabeth Clay vs. Helena Crevar (WNO featherweight title)
Andrew Tackett vs. Fabyury Khrysthyan (welterweight)
Owen Jones vs. Julian Espinosa (lightweight)
Alexandre Ribeiro vs. Richie Martinez (light heavyweight)
Undercard
Chris Wojcik vs. Michael Esquivel II
Alan Magendzo vs. Colin Carr
Taylor Hishaw vs. Trinity Pun
Ben Eddy vs. Josh Wyland
How to watch: WNO 27: Duarte vs. Rodriguez takes place on Friday, April 18, 2025, and will air live on FloGrappling (subscription required) beginning at 8:00 PM EST.
