Small Sample Size Theater - Catch Scouting Reports on Jon Zang, Erik Hammer, and Pat Stano

Jon Zang is a NAGA competitor and amateur wrestler with over 25 years of experience. Doesn't appear to have competed beyond the high school level in folkstyle or freestyle, but was fairly successful at that level in a tough region of the country. Trains under Joel Bane of Snake Pit USA.

From limited footage - and I have literally one match, so take this with as much salt as your doctor allows - Zang likes two on one and collar ties. He doesn't change levels well, and isn't really mobile compared to most of the field. You can get to his hips standing and his legs on the mat. Gave up a ton of submission opportunities to a smaller man. I have to think Brandon Ruiz will finish those kinds of chances if he gets them. Zang looks like a serious underdog.

See this grainy-ass photo? This is what I'm working with!

Erik Hammer is a Josh Barnett protege and his hand-picked replacement. According to Catch Wrestling U, Hammer was a juco state champ (California) and Arena League football player, and he definitely looks the part. Also has wrestled pro for the shoot (ish) style Inoki Genome Federation.

We have two - two! - whole matches of Hammer to look at, and they're eight years old. If Hammer's the same athlete he was eight years ago, he's powerful and agile. He doesn't apply the kind of top pressure Barnett does - most people can't - but does look comfortable applying catch principles in what's basically a jujitsu setting. He doesn't settle for top position but constantly looks to improve his angle of control, and mixes up attacks to all areas of the body. His wrestling on his feet and from the bottom is untested, and if he makes it to the second round I don't know that he can hang with Jacobs or Buck, but as someone who enjoyed Hammer's pro wrestling work, I'm excited to see what he can bring to the table.

Pat Stano is a former wrestler for Eastern Michigan University, a former MMA fighter, and a BJJ black belt who currently coaches for the Carlos Catania Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Association. (He has a small youtube channel here.) I've seen him credited as an NCAA tournament qualifier, but he doesn't appear in the official tournament brackets at any point in his college career, and the highest accolade I can find for him is placing third in the Mid-American conference at 190lbs for the 1986-87 season. His mixed martial arts record is 1-5-1 as a pro, with the standout being a draw with Dan Severn in 2003, and 1-0 as an amateur. In the early 00s he won multiple BJJ and submission grappling titles, but Stano's now 53 years old.

Stano's another one-match wonder for the scouting report and it's a jujitsu match in the gi. Hope you didn't go through all that salt already. In motion on his feet, Stano looks every bit of 53 years old. He's been a competitive grappler for probably longer than I've been alive, and I'm 43. My knees sound like popcorn popping. I can only imagine what his feel like. His game is basically being big enough, strong enough, and technically sound enough that he only has to move when he absolutely wants to. Otherwise he'll settle into position and wait for pressure and patience to create an opening when his opponent screws up. It's lazy old man jujitsu, and I say that with the utmost respect. I've used the same approach whenever I could get away with it. I don't think Erik Hammer is going to let him get away with it. Granting Hammer is older and probably slower than we last saw him on video, he's still an infinitely more dynamic athlete than Stano appears to be. 

Your first round match ups are - 

1. Brandon Ruiz vs Jon Zang
2. Kenny Lester vs Nicholas Caggia
3. Curran Jacobs vs Johnny Buck
4. Erik Hammer vs Pat Stano

Semi-finals - 

1. Winner of Ruiz/Zang vs Winner of Lester/Caggia
2. Winner of Jacobs/Buck vs Winner of Hammer/Stano 

Even with the unfortunate loss of Barnett and Crossan, this tournament should produce some real fireworks. If you're in the area, absolutely go. If you're not you'll have to pray for some sort of video release with the rest of us.

(For more on the 2018 Catch Wrestling World Tournament, including tournament scheduling and bracketing, see Snake Pit USA and Catch Wrestling U.)