Timmy Teves is more known as a local mixed martial artist on the rise, but he’ll be showing his jiu-jitsu skills on Saturday. “I haven’t trained jiu-jitsu in a while. I actually just got back because I want to try
Timmy Teves is more known as a local mixed martial artist on the rise, but he’ll be showing his jiu-jitsu skills on Saturday.
“I haven’t trained jiu-jitsu in a while. I actually just got back because I want to try to step up my jiu-jitsu game a little bit. They asked me if I wanted to do it, and I just jumped on it,” Teves said Thursday.
Teves, of Kapahi, became a last-minute replacement in the co-main event in the Hawaii Star Jiu Jitsu Invitational, which takes place Saturday at the Kauai High School auditorium.
The co-main bout originally featured local fighter Dustin Barca, but became unavailable because of injury.
“Basically, Barca got hurt a while ago,” said event coordinator Romolo Barros. “He said he really wanted to be in the card. But I found out a few days ago, he said he can’t really train properly. But he said, ‘I have one of my students. He’s really good, and he’s the same weight as the guy. So, he’s going to replace me.’ That’s basically what happened.”
Barros added about the new co-main bout: “(Teves) is really good in jiu-jitsu also. He’s the best up-and-comer from Kauai as an MMA fighter. I just know. For Barca, for him to put somebody to replace him, he must be good. And the guy he’s competing against from Honolulu, he’s really good. He won the last all star event we had in Honolulu, and he was Fighter of the Night against a very tough opponent.”
Teves most recently won an MMA bout in October in Hilo — a fight he said he won within seconds of the first round and defended his belt.
Prior to that, Teves fought in Kauai Cage Match 16 – Showdown on the Southshore in August in Koloa. That fight, he also won by technical knockout within seconds of the first round.
As for Saturday, Teves said he took on the bout “with no worries” despite only having a couple of days to train.
“I’m confident in my jiu-jitsu. Jiu-jitsu was one of my main bases where I started from,” he said. “I started training when I was about 15 years old. I’m 25 now. I’ve been off and on with jiu-jitsu — never won any big tournaments or anything. But I made sure my jiu-jitsu is solid at the point where I can defend myself on my back. I don’t have any worries on that.”
Teves said he was originally scheduled for another MMA fight this weekend, but his opponent became unavailable. So, he’s taking this opportunity stay active and and put his jiu-jitsu to the test against a skilled practitioner.
“I’m a purple belt-level. This guy is a purple-belt level. He’s a top-level fighter. I’m hearing he’s been winning,” Teves said. “I just want to test my level and my jiu-jitsu skills against a top-level jiu-jitsu fighter.”
The event is scheduled to begin 8 p.m. Tickets are available at www.hawaiiallstarbjj.com for $20. Tickets will also be sold at the door for $25.
What makes this competition unique, however, is that matches can only be won by submission whereas typically competitors can win by points.
Matches will have just one 20-minute round and will end as a draw if there is no submission.
“It’s submission only, so it should be interesting,” Teves said. “It’s going to come down to, I wouldn’t say technique. Well technique for sure, but it’s going to come down to who wants it the most.”
Scheduled card
Main event: Kyle Leon Sukehira (Longman Jiu-jitsu Kauai) vs. Joel Bouhey (Maui Jiu-jitsu)
2. Timmy Teves (Longman Jiu-jitsu Kauai) vs. Dustin Ching (Relson Gracie RSA)
3. Mika Johnson (Relson Gracie RSA) vs. Eric Cannon (New Breed Kauai)
4. Sean James (10th Planet Jiu-jitsu) vs. Jonah Ferrias (KTI Jiu-jitsu)
5. Dustin Aguilar (New Breed Kauai) vs. Matt O’Neil (Longman Jiu-jitsu Kauai)
6. Devon Andrews (Powerhousse Jiu-jitsu Kauai) vs. Richard Hernandez (Longman Jiu-jitsu Kauai)
