Samuel Snow wins the TXMMA people’s choice award for adult black belt of the year in 2015
– 24th of January, 2016 –
Read the original Article posted on TXMMA.com
Having just been awarded his black belt in December of 2014, coach Samuel Snow was surprised at his nomination, and even more surprised by the outcome of the voting. An incredible first year at black belt, Snow competed against some of the middle weight division’s biggest names, and managed to secure his first win over a world champion in the Brazilian, Marcelo “Lapela” Mafra, after an intense, 10 minute battle at the 2015 Dallas Open IBJJF Championship back in September. Here is a clip of the end of the match that was highlighted by TXMMA and left fans in the crowd cheering wildly at the upset.
Snow’s response to being named black belt of the year: “Man, it is such an immense honor to be recognized by my peers in Texas. Our community is made up of some great people and I am humbled to be awarded such a title by the respected TXMMA.com crew.”
Quote From the orginial article posted on TXMMA.com:
“The 2015 TXMMA Awards People’s Choice Voting wrapped up last month with over 5,000 participants, friends and family of Texas BJJ voting in this past year’s annual polls.
On the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ) side there were 22 awards up for grabs with the goal of highlighting the top grapplers, performances, and contributors for 2015.
Though the finalists were decided based on statistical merit following our nomination period and subsequent research, the TXMMA People’s Choice Award Winners were 100% decided by popular vote. Yes this was a popularity contest, one that helped expose Jiu-Jitsu to many people outside our community. If even a small percentage of those participating voters become interested in training via these awards, then we’ve accomplished our goal. Likewise, all the votes garnered show the support that these individual grapplers receive as well, and it is our hope that sponsors, etc. recognize the passion they have for the sport.
The results for the Official TXMMA Awards – Grappling Edition are also forthcoming soon so rest assured that the appropriate parties will be recognized as well based on their 2015 competition success.
Congratulations to everyone who participated in this annual endeavor. We sincerely thank you for helping us recognize the most deserving and visible in our community.” [from TXMMA.com]
Photography by http://www.mikecalimbas.com/
[Photo corteousy of Mike Calimbas Photography, taken at the 2015 IBJJF Austin International Open]
“Every year these belt level awards get harder and harder to figure out. That’s especially true in the official (stats-based) portion of our awards process but this year there is plenty of competition even in the people’s choice voting polls as well.
At black belt, Samuel Snow and Alex Martins took the honor at adult and masters respectively. Snow had a benchmark year competing at the black belt level, traveling all over the place and gaining some big wins. Meanwhile, Martins opened up his new academy and is doing quite well in the DFW area. Also a special note for Tier 1’s Alan Shebaro as well. He actually had an overwhelming amount of comments indicating his name in the comments section of our polls but the rules dictated that all voters must click the other button for their votes to count. Therefore, Alex Martins came out on top per the rules. Either way, both these guys deserve some recognition.”
Read the full article by TXMMA staff:
http://www.txmma.com/2015-txmma-awards-bjj-edition-peoples-choice-winners/
