NewsOctober 15, 2026

Five golden tickets. Here's who won them.

81 athletes came to Carrollton on October 11 to fight for a spot in the PGF Season 10 draft pool. Every match was no-gi, submission only, six minutes. Five athletes left with a golden ticket.

Five weight classes ran from 145 to 205 pounds. Lose once and you were out. The whole thing went out on a livestream with a commentary team, and most matches didn't need the full six minutes.

One winner in each weight class. All five are now in the draft pool.

The five Mustangs qualifier division winners holding their golden tickets, labeled 205, 170, 155, 145 and 185 pounds.

145 lbs

1st James Ortiz Simple Man Martial Arts

2nd Nate Hernandez Inevat Brazilian Jiu Jitsu

3rd Jesmael Troche Simple Man Martial Arts
3rd Connor Stallmer Simple Man Martial Arts
155 lbs

1st Tristan Caballero The Collective Team

2nd Alexis Ortiz Independent Grappling

3rd Alek Esquivel The Collective Team
3rd Jaden Tucker The Collective Team
170 lbs

1st Richar Nogueira Rodrigo Pinheiro Brazilian Jiu Jitsu

2nd Luke Patterson 10th Planet Austin

3rd Micheal Williams Virtue Brazilian Jiu Jitsu TX
3rd Reed Hall Genesis Jiu Jitsu
185 lbs

1st Dominic Ducharme NorCal Fighting Alliance

2nd Douglas Schmitt Simple Man Martial Arts

3rd Diego Pichilingue Python Martial Arts
3rd Nolan Rodrigue Team Rivas BJJ
205 lbs

1st Brandon George Kingsway Jiu Jitsu

2nd Joel Holloway Ralph Gracie Georgetown

3rd James Johnson Hog House of Grappling
3rd Cristoval Cruz James White Fitness

Full brackets on Smoothcomp

145: James Ortiz

James Ortiz opened his day with a flying armbar 18 seconds in. He added a heel hook, then beat his own teammate, Jesmael Troche, with an armbar in the semifinal. In the final he met Nate Hernandez, who had won three straight matches by heel hook. Ortiz ended it with an ankle lock at 1:44. His gym, Simple Man Martial Arts, left with three of the four podium spots.

155: Tristan Caballero

Tristan Caballero finished his first two matches in under a minute, at 0:57 and 0:47. His semifinal was against a teammate too. He beat Jaden Tucker with an Achilles lock at 1:16. The final against Alexis Ortiz was the only title match that went the full six minutes, and Caballero won the decision. His gym, The Collective Team, also took three of four podium spots.

170: Richar Nogueira

Richar Nogueira opened with a heel hook, and a decision over Alexander Cardinal of Carlos Machado HQ moved him on. He beat Reed Hall with an ankle lock in the semifinal. Luke Patterson of 10th Planet Austin was waiting in the final, fresh off a rear-naked choke. Nogueira caught him in a heel hook at 3:33.

185: Dominic DuCharme

Dominic DuCharme opened with a kimura, then beat Diego Pichilingue with an armbar in the semifinal. In the final he met Douglas Schmitt, who had won his two matches in 54 seconds and 19 seconds. DuCharme got the rear-naked choke at 5:52, with just eight seconds left on the clock.

205: Brandon George

Brandon George opened with an inverted triangle. Then he went to the ankle. He beat Cristoval Cruz with an ankle lock in 55 seconds, and finished Joel Holloway the same way in the final, at 1:13.

The numbers

Sub Stats, PGF's analytics partner, compared all nine qualifiers held so far this season. Dallas had 57 finishes in 75 matches, more than any other qualifier. Twenty finishes came in under a minute, also more than anywhere else. The average match lasted 2:56, and the ankle lock was the most common finish, with 14.

Source: Sub Stats on Instagram

What's next

All five winners are now in the draft pool. A ticket doesn't lock a Mustangs contract. The roster gets picked at the draft on January 17, 2027. The Mustangs also plan pro training and scouting sessions around DFW. The team will announce the invites.

Want to know who the Mustangs pick on January 17? Join the list and you'll hear it first.

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