Tap Cancer Out Raleigh 2026
There are tournaments you compete in, and there are tournaments you show up for. The Tap Cancer Out BJJ Open is the second kind.
Gracie Raleigh sent 26 competitors to the mats. Together they logged 59 matches and came home with 29 wins, 12 of them by submission. Six of our athletes went undefeated. And behind every one of those numbers was a teammate who drove out, found a spot near the mat, and lost their voice cheering for somebody else.
Here is how the day went.
| Stat | Number |
|---|---|
| Gracie Raleigh competitors | 26 |
| Total matches | 59 |
| Wins | 29 |
| Wins by submission | 12 |
| Wins by points | 15 |
| Wins by decision | 2 |
| Undefeated athletes | 6 |
| All-Gracie Raleigh matchups | 2 |
| Fastest submission | 36 seconds (Levent Erdem) |
| Raised for cancer research so far | Over $10,000 |
Our competitors spanned ages 4 to 52 and every belt we entered: white, grey, blue, purple, and brown. We had even more competitors and black belts who were unable to get matches.
Undefeated on the day
Six Gracie Raleigh athletes went through their divisions without a loss.
- Hunter Wilkinson (Adult White Middleweight) went 3-0, opening with a 2:56 submission and closing out two straight decisions on points.
- Patrick Lane (Teen 10-11 White-Grey Heavyweight) went 3-0, taking his first by decision after a full four minutes and the next two on points.
- Camden Bergey (Adult Brown Light-Heavyweight) went 2-0, winning a seven-minute points battle and then finishing his second by submission at 5:20.
- Catherine Raemore (Adult White Middleweight) went 2-0 with two submissions, at 1:44 and 1:05.
- Daniel Twiddy (Executive 40+ Purple Light-Heavyweight) went 2-0 with two submissions, at 3:37 and 1:50.
- Tom Webb (Executive 40+ Blue Heavyweight) went 2-0 on points, in the first tournament he has ever entered, at 52 years old.
Tom Webb's first tournament
If you have rolled with Tom, you already know he is tough. What you might not know is what he has been fighting off the mat.
In 2020 Tom was diagnosed with prostate cancer. Surgery got him through 2021, until 2024, when his numbers crept back up and he ended up doing 33 rounds of radiation last fall. Anyone who trains knows what jiu-jitsu asks of your body on a good day. Tom did it anyway. Testosterone tanked, exhausted, still showing up to roll with the rest of us, because staying on the mat is what kept him going.
Recovery does not end with the last treatment. Saturday, Tom walked out and competed for the first time in his life. He won his opening match on points, then came back and won again to take the division.
He stepped out there to prove a point. He did not do it alone. He and his teammate were in the same bracket, they made a promise before the tournament that they’d win out and meet each other in the finals. They kept that promise.
Pat's gold
Patrick Lane broke a losing streak in the best possible place. He went 3-0 for gold in the one tournament that means more to him than all the others, because the money it raises goes toward something that has touched his family directly. Pat has been training really hard and his prior tournaments he wasn’t able to get the results he wanted, but this time he was able to show what we knew all along. That he was a champion.
Every submission win
| Athlete | Time | Division |
|---|---|---|
| Levent Erdem | 0:36 | Adult White Feather |
| Catherine Raemore | 1:05 | Adult White Middleweight |
| Catherine Raemore | 1:44 | Adult White Middleweight |
| Eric Martinson | 1:31 | Executive 40+ Blue Light-Heavyweight |
| Daniel Twiddy | 1:50 | Executive 40+ Purple Light-Heavyweight |
| Frederico Belluco | 2:10 | Executive 40+ Blue Heavyweight |
| Hunter Wilkinson | 2:56 | Adult White Middleweight |
| Benjamin Lane | 3:07 | Executive 40+ Blue Light-Heavyweight |
| Jason DeVries | 3:12 | Adult Blue Middleweight |
| Daniel Twiddy | 3:37 | Executive 40+ Purple Light-Heavyweight |
| Jack Capifoni | 4:24 | Adult White Light-Heavyweight |
| Camden Bergey | 5:20 | Adult Brown Light-Heavyweight |
Why this tournament
ap Cancer Out is a nonprofit that runs jiu-jitsu tournaments to raise money for cancer research and patient support. Every competitor fundraises. Our team has helped raise over $10,000 so far, and we are not finished.
For some of our students, that is an abstract good cause. For others, including Tom and Pat, it is personal.
Hardship and loss and hard seasons are going to be part of life for all of us. Cancer, a tournament, something you are carrying that nobody else can see. When you have a community around you, the hard gets lighter, and you end up doing more than you thought you could.
Congratulations to all 26 of our students who put their name on that bracket. Win, lose, first time, tenth time. You showed up, and each time you do WE get better.
Full results by athlete
Kids and Teens
Rowan Ruano (Junior 4-5, White-Grey Feather) – 1-1 Won on points over Mateo Santiz, Nature BJJ Sanford.
Saif Joudeh (Junior 4-5, White-Grey Feather) – 0-2 Four years old and walked out there twice in front of a crowd. That is the hard part, and he did it.
Roman Glass (Junior 8-9, White-Grey Lightweight) – 2-1 Won on points over Millie Bame, Embrace Martial Arts. Won by decision over Cason Romero, Island Jiu Jitsu Atlantic, after a full three minutes.
Johnny Davis (Junior 8-9, White-Grey Feather) – 0-2 Went the full three minutes in his second match against Grappling Disciples.
Patrick Lane (Teen 10-11, White-Grey Heavyweight) – 3-0, gold Won by decision over Bishop Thompson, Trinity Martial Arts. Won on points over Emmanuel Matteo, Green Black Sheep BJJ. Won on points over Cooper Buhlman, G13 BJJ Raleigh.
Rowan Carr (Teen 12-13, White-Grey Lightweight) – 0-2 Took his second match the full four minutes against Trinity Martial Arts.
Roy Elmore (Teen 12-13, Colored Belt Lightweight) – 0-2 Went nearly four minutes with Pendergrass Academy and a full four with Embrace.
Adults, Masters, and Executives
Hunter Wilkinson (Adult White Middleweight) – 3-0 Submission over Carlos Gomez, Sipan BJJ, at 2:56. Points over Alex Urbina, Embrace Martial Arts. Points over Isaiah Monreal, Alliance Cary.
Camden Bergey (Adult Brown Light-Heavyweight) – 2-0 Points over Austin Peters, New Millennium Martial Arts, after seven minutes. Submission over Christian Moultrie, Tru Fight Team, at 5:20.
Catherine Raemore (Adult White Middleweight) – 2-0 Two submission wins over Amber Haynes, Kobukan Martial Arts Academy, at 1:44 and 1:05.
Daniel Twiddy (Executive 40+ Purple Light-Heavyweight) – 2-0 Two submission wins over Thiago Oliveira, Alliance Cary, at 3:37 and 1:50.
Tom Webb (Executive 40+ Blue Heavyweight) – 2-0 Points over Aaron Noble, The Grappling Company. Points over teammate Frederico Belluco.
Levent Erdem (Adult White Feather) – 2-2 Points over Michael Parker, Island Jiu Jitsu Atlantic. Submission over Connor Smith, Kobukan, at 36 seconds, the fastest finish on the team.
Eric Martinson (Executive 40+ Blue Light-Heavyweight) – 1-1 Submission over Ryan Rassouli, Team ROC, at 1:31.
Frederico Belluco (Executive 40+ Blue Heavyweight) – 1-1 Submission over Robert Kearney, Kaizen Jiu Jitsu Roanoke, at 2:10.
Michael Montague (Masters 30+ Purple Light-Heavyweight) – 1-1 Points over Zach Kerkow-Provo, Triangle Jiu Jitsu.
Benjamin Lane (Executive 40+ Blue Light-Heavyweight) – 1-2 Submission over Greg Ylvisaker, Tinsley Family Martial Arts, at 3:07.
Jason DeVries (Adult Blue Middleweight) – 1-1 Submission over Sebastian Garrafa, Royce Gracie Jiujitsu Academy of Raleigh, at 3:12.
Sam Shenton (Adult Blue Light-Heavyweight) – 1-1 Points over Richard Gilchrist, Ohio State Jiu Jitsu Club.
Malin Mozingo (Adult Purple Lightweight) – 1-1 Points over Christian Massaro, The Jiu-Jitsu Exchange.
James Corrigan (Adult Blue Feather) – 1-2 Points over Kabir Jani, Fight To Win of Charlotte.
Jack Capifoni (Adult White Light-Heavyweight) – 1-2 Submission over teammate Cooper West at 4:24.
Cooper West (Adult White Light-Heavyweight) – 1-2 Points over Tony Agu, Groundstone BJJ.
Casey Granack (Female Masters 30+ White Light-Feather) – 0-2 Took her second match the full five minutes against TFTC Academy.
Robert Walther (Masters 30+ White Heavyweight) – 0-2 Two matches, both against tough opposition, both taken deep.
Nikko Baron (Adult White Middleweight) – 0-2 Went the full five minutes in his second match against Eduardo Silva Jiu-Jitsu.
Some of our competitors were stepping onto a competition mat for the very first time. If you have done it, you know exactly what that walk feels like, and you know that getting onto that mat for the very first time or after a long break can be the biggest battle of all.
We saw parents compete on the same day as their sons. We saw teammates meet up during the week, outside of class, to drill game plans together, and then stand at the edge of the mat and talk each other through it. We saw people who did not get their hand raised walk straight back to the warm-up area to help the next teammate get ready. And its those moments and those teammates that make us stronger as a team.
The wins and the fast submissions show that we’re great at jiu jitu, the moments off the mat show how strong of a team we are.