This is Awkward - The Catch Scouting Report on Nicholas Caggia

(A playlist of the matches used for this scouting report can be found here.)


While he never wrestled at a level higher than high school, Nicholas Caggia has been a fixture of the East Coast grappling scene for most of the last decade. He's competed for ADCC, NAGA, Grappler's Quest, the Pro Grappling League, the 2014 Catch Wrestling tournament at the MMA World Expo, and the Frank Gotch 2016 and 2017 tournaments.

The first thing that strikes you about Caggia is that he is enormous. Listed at 6'3" and over three hundred pounds, he routinely dwarfs his competition. The second thing is that he does not look even a little bit comfortable moving around. He reminds me a little of Tim Sylvia - I watch him move and I cannot believe this man is a professional (or semi-professional, in Caggia's case) athlete.


That being said, Caggia moves around on the mat better than you might think. He's not Curran Jacobs by any means, but even on the rare occasions he wrestles someone roughly his own size (like Omar "Big O" Cruickshank) he's active on the bottom, trying to stay off his back and looking for opportunities to get back to his feet or snag a submission. On top, he's pretty smooth at moving from one ride to another, and in a catch setting looks comfortable mixing up his pinning and submission attempts. His conditioning is likewise better than his appearance suggests, having no problem making it through 20 minute plus long matches.

Size aside, though, nothing about Caggia's game stands out as exceptional. He's ok at pummeling and handfighting, but doesn't have much of a throwing game even if he gets an advantageous position in the clinch. (Caggia does have a nice outside trip from an over/under he's used more in recent years.) His takedown game is mostly built on bulling a smaller man to the ground, and the foundation of his takedown defense is likewise just being the bigger man. To be fair, he is almost always the bigger man. He doesn't change levels well offensively or defensively, and is particularly vulnerable to low level attacks. 

On the mat, he creates a lot of top pressure with a devastating technique called "being 300lbs," but doesn't add as much as you'd like with form and posture. He can finish with a double wristlock or keylock but isn't a submission wizard. His best attack is probably mat returns against smaller opponents.

Caggia is matched up with Kenny Lester in the first round of the World Tournament, and I would be legitimately stunned if Caggia came out of that match on top. Lester is the second biggest man in the field, looks to be the much better wrestler on their feet, and nothing I've seen from Caggia suggests he can win the takedown battle or get out from under Lester. 

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