Polaris 33 Preview — Squads: South America vs Asia & Oceania

When / Where

• Date: Saturday, 13 September 2025
• Venue: Fairfield Halls (Croydon, London)
• Format: Polaris Squads—team vs team (six athletes per side; under-80kg / under-95kg bands)
• Stream: UFC Fight Pass
• Local time: 15:00–22:00 BST

What’s confirmed
Polaris 33 is a South America vs Asia & Oceania squads showdown. Fairfield’s event page positions it as the semifinal to find the challenger to Team Europe for Polaris’ intercontinental title. Individual team rosters are TBA at the time of writing.

Why this match-up matters (quick rules refresher)

• Six athletes per team (3× under-80kg, 3× under-95kg).
• Two 45-minute halves, 5-minute rounds, winner-stays-on.
• Scoring: Decision = 1 pt, Submission = 2 pts, lighter beats heavier = 3 pts.
• If tied after time, captains do a 5-minute tiebreaker.
  This format heavily rewards finishing and pacing—perfect for pressure passers and chain-submission hunters.

Spotlight: Igor Tanabe

• Snapshot: The phenom known as “Fatninja”; incredible run in Polaris past appearances (Polaris 18 win over Tommy Langaker by bow-and-arrow choke; earned performance & MOTN honours).
• Game to watch: Back-takes from standing exchanges, collar-drag to rear attacks (in no-gi he translates this to body-lock to back exposure), and clinical finishing on the back.
• Squads' impact: In a winner-stays format, his submission rate is gold. He can swing a half by itself. If he’s fielded at under-80, his speed advantages are pronounced; at under-95, he still threatens with back exposure off scrambles.

Spotlight: Kenta Iwamoto

• Snapshot: The fan favourite grappler; multiple-time ADCC Asia & Oceania Trials winner and ADCC Worlds veteran; commonly seen representing B-Team internationally.
• Game to watch: Takedown→top pressure blueprint—foot sweeps, body-lock entries, heavy shoulder pressure from side control. He’s hard to run off the mat and turns exchanges into long, grinding sequences.
• Squads' impact: In this ruleset, a strategic draw can be as valuable as a win if it stalls an opposing heater. Iwamoto excels at tempo control: denying quick subs, wearing opponents down, and setting the next teammate up with favourable matchups.

Tactical questions for Polaris 33

Tempo vs Control: With a finisher like Igor, will team Asia and Oceania front-load submission hunters, or save them to chase 3-point up-weight subs?

Asia & Oceania’s order: Do they lead with Iwamoto to blunt an early rush, or deploy him mid-half as a “stopper” to reset momentum?

Captaincy & Tiebreaker: With rosters TBA, captain choice matters—a five-minute, judges-decided round can decide the entire event.