Cris Barber recently took first place at the NAGA Grappling
Championships in Las Vegas
When the pressure was on in Las Vegas, Cris Barber hit the jackpot.
And he just turned 17.
Traveling roughly 500 miles to Las Vegas for the 2008 NAGA Grappling Championships, Barber roughed up the competition for his biggest tournament win in the 17-year-old advanced heavyweight division, defeating a pair of opponents from top grappling schools.
It may have been just two matches, but the 5-foot-11, 169-pound San Benito High School student said he was completely exhausted after his tournaments wins.
“They get the best from each school,” said Barber, who trains at Main Street Kickboxing in Hollister. “There are less guys in the advanced division, but they’re the best of the best.”
In grappling, where bouts can be won or lost on submission moves, Barber certainly proved he was the top contender in Las Vegas.
Of course, he entered the championships with little information on his opponents – David Prietu of Team Mica and Michael D’Angelo of D’Angelo MMA.
“I just went in and did the advanced (division) to see what would happen,” said Barber, who’s been working his way through the beginner and intermediate ranks since he was 14-years-old. “I didn’t let it get to me. I had pretty good training. I went in with the attitude that I was gonna win this.”
Training for two months leading up to the championships, Barber spent countless hours at Main Street Kickboxing running, doing cardio and practicing submissions and moves with submission coach Chris Murphy.
“He really helped me with this fight,” Barber said. “He took my game to the next level.”
That next level was perhaps much needed, as Barber opened the championships against D’Angelo in a match that lasted nearly 12 minutes.
With a standard bout consisting of one four-minute round, Barber and D’Angelo eventually went to double overtime before it was all said and done.
“We kept scoring on each other,” Barber said. “Finally, in the last 10 seconds, I got a good takedown and they gave me the fight.
“It was referees decision … They said I was more dominant.”
The win placed Barber into the final against Prietu, who defeated D’Angelo as well. Prietu is of Team Mica, the top-ranked school in Las Vegas, Barber said.
While that match didn’t last half as long as the 12-minute marathon against D’Angelo, it was certainly more rewarding.
Barber didn’t need any overtime period to defeat the Mica grappler. Instead, Prietu tapped out just two-and-a-half minutes into the championship bout.
“I tapped him out with a triangle choke,” said Barber, who added that the triangle is a choke applied from your back in a figure-four position. “He was a lot stronger (than D’Angelo), but his technique wasn’t as clean. They were still really good – both of them were.”
The title punched Barber’s ticket to Grapplers Quest on May 3 in Las Vegas, which, along with NAGA, are the two most recognized grappling tournaments in the country, Barber said.
And to think, Barber’s journey started by watching mixed-martial arts on television nearly three years ago.
“I liked how intense it was – full contact,” Barber said. “I quit wrestling and I started doing grappling and submission and I just liked it way more. It was a lot more tactical, so I just never went back.”
