When Deandre Corbe and Diego Pato meet at WNO 31 for Pato's lightweight title, it will be the second time these two have met this year with high stakes. In June, they faced off in the semifinals of a major Sapateiro tournament that included most of the top 155lb grapplers on Earth. Corbe would pick up the win there and go on to win the entire tournament. Now, Pato gets his chance at revenge under his ruleset at WNO 31 in Round Rock, TX.

Sapateiro has been kind enough to share the full match with us and in addition to the footage we are also going to break down some of the major strategic and technical approaches to the match, including adjustments we may see on December 5th.

The Early Exchanges

Let's start by establishing the first pattern of the match, which is Diego Pato's strategy. Pato starts the match in a familiar way, pulling and playing from a supine guard. It's uncommon in 2025 to see guys being successful at the highest levels without using more of a seated open guard - which lets you chase and wrestle more - but Pato is atypically successful playing from his back. His first major strategy here is his most common one - the K guard. He underhooks the leg and grips his hands together, then inverts to his shoulder and whips his leg around to begin entangling.

Deandre does a great job of handling this common entry with a novel strategy - every time Pato inverts deep enough, Deandre would sit to double pull and work to quickly outpummel his way back to inside position (and safety). This lets Deandre lighten his legs as he sits, allowing for faster, more precise leg movements. Once he is clear, he was able to get back on top - especially since Pato is not the most aggressive top player in the division and is happy to rely on his guard.

Leg Locking Strategy

Deandre's best log locking came in the form of the inside ashi. From the double pull, he would control a foot with a full achilles grip. From there, he throws a reap over and locks the legs so that he is able to expose the heel without being attacked back. Pato did a great job clearing this back reattacking back into the position, but this entry was noticeably strong all match.

For the rematch, this really complicates Pato's strategy. He's facing someone who has elite leg lock defense and a strong strategy against his best entries. It may be that Pato needs to use some of those entries and attacks to mix in sweeps, back takes, and even other submissions like arm locks. If he stays one dimensional against someone this comfortable in the leg locking, it may be a long and frustrating fifteen minutes in Round Rock.

Wrestling Advantage, Corbe

Early into the ADCC overtime at Sapateiro, we saw a critical takedown exchange. Deandre, a state champion wrestler before he began BJJ, snapped Pato down and spun to turtle. Pato was able to eventually clear out to his open guard but this was a really emphatic sequence for Deandre early into the overtime period of a close match. This sequence really speaks to how any time spent on the feet between these two will be a marked advantage for Deandre.

Craziest Sequence Of The Match

If you want to see how technical these guys really are, go find this sequence that starts at the 12:46 mark of the video (2:55 left in OT). It shows Pato attacking with a crazy two piece combination but Corbe keeping up with every exchange.

• Pato uses an arm drag grip to get Corbe's posture up, and then steps on the knee to off balance his opponent away. Notice how Corbe's head moves to keep balance without stepping too far.
• As Corbe steps back in, Pato underhooks the leg and pummels to false reap. If he can connect his feet to the far leg, he will be able to invert to the heel hook. Deandre keeps his far leg back and down at an angle to stay balanced without giving up that far leg.
• This lets Pato swing back and into a deep De La X guard (a deep De La Riva hook around the back of the legs and an X guard hook in front of the legs). Pato inverts under and grips both legs. He wants to enter into a modified saddle where the inside leg is trapped - the same position Nicky Ryan submitted JT Torres with.
• Corbe bails to his hips and frames on the shins as he clears out.

Even though Corbe was able to eventually escape, this exchange was some of the most deeply layered jiu-jitsu you are going to see. Multiple deep leg lock entries were expertly defended and both men got to show how elite their skill level is.

Both men were able to show some of the best aspects of their game that night at Sapateiro, but given their highly technical games and the gyms they come from I think we can expect even more fireworks in the rematch. Both men are highly motivated to prove they are in fact the top grappler in this highly-competitive division - and whoever wins on December 5th in Round Rock, TX gets to call himself number one.