his weekend, on December 3rd, 2022, pro-grappling event, GrappleFest will return to its home in Liverpool, England, for the 14th edition of the show with 3 exciting title matches and an array of superfights that promise to bring forward some of the top talents in Great Britain, aligned with a fair few athletes from across the globe.
Date: December 3rd, 2022
Live Stream: Fite.Tv (link)
Location: Club Fusion, Liverpool, UK
GF14 MAIN CARD
EOGHAN O’FLANAGAN (New School BJJ) v JACOB COUCH (PSF) u90kgs title
Headlining GF14 are two of the nastiest leg-lockers in the sport, a clash that is set for some interesting dynamics. Despite Couch’s brown belt status, do not expect him to be the underdog here, he is the more well-rounded of the two and is the most experienced of the two at the upper echelon of the sport.
An intriguing matchup on many levels as both have very solid lower-limb attacks on their arsenals, particularly with inside heel hooks, but both also prefer playing from the bottom to get to the legs and are seldomly seen from passing stances. Will anyone concede the bottom position? If this one goes all the way through the regulation period (which we highly doubt), the strategies outlined prior to the match will be key, and likely dictate how entertaining this will be for the fans.
ROSA WALSH (PSF) v GABI SCHUCK (ZR Team) u70kgs title
Another black belt vs brown belt clash here where things will be vastly more even than the rank would make you believe. There is never a dull moment when Rosa Walsh is on the mat, undoubtedly, one of the most exciting grapplers in Europe right now. Walsh had a slip-up at WNO earlier and is hoping to rebound from that loss at GrappleFest, the event that brought her into the spotlight a couple of years ago.
In front of Rosa will be another very promising grappler, the Brazilian Gabriele Schuck. A very active competitor on the international circuit, who is seen mostly in Brazil and the UK. Gabi has competed at heavyweight and should be the stronger of the two, which should help her impose her game. Whatever the outcome, this should be a barn burner of a title match.
BRADLEY HILL (Royal JJ) v DAVID GARMO (Assembly JJ) u90kgs
Originally set to be a clash between Garmo and Santeri Lillius, Bradley Hill ended up taking Santeri’s place, due to unforeseen circumstances. A very different type of grappler from Santeri. Hill has a wealth of experience and is, arguably, less physical but more versatile than Garmo’s original challenger. Both David and Bradly have styles that often give something to take something, a type of dynamics that should make this a very interesting clash to follow.
NADINE TAVARES (Fightzone) v JULIA MAELE (Oxy Gym) u65kgs title
Another very fun clash between two exciting athletes developed on the European Continent. Tavares under the guidance of coach Marco Canha, at Fightzone, and Maele with Felipe Mota (Gargamel) at Oxy.
Julia is the higher-ranked of the two and is coming off a gold medal performance at the IBJJF European No-Gi Open. A strong year for the Norwegian who also won ADCC’s European Trials and competed at the famous promotion’s World Championship in September. On the opposite side of the mat will be Nadine Tavares, a brown belt who’s been tearing it up at GrappleFest events for the past few events. Tavares is also an IBJJF World Championship with the gi and No-Gi Euros silver medalist.
This will be a contrast of styles, with Maele being a pressure passer in nature, akin to a more traditional grappling style while Tavares is coming in with a more movement-based approach, aggressive and with plenty of lower limb attacks on her arsenal. Another clash with the right ingredients for a MOTN award.
SAM MCNALLY (Essential JJ) v KEV CORKHILL (Precison CA) u70kgs
Out of the top clashes to keep your eye on this weekend is McNally’s battle against Corkhill. Sam is one of the most accomplished jiu-jitsu athletes to ever come out of Ireland, having on his resume a dominant win over the prestigious Garry Tonon at this year’s ADCC tournament. Corkhill, on the other hand, is a GrappleFest veteran whose known for his leg-locking prowess.
CHRIS WOJCIK (Serafin BJJ) v BARTEK LUKASZEWICZ (Piranha Gdynia) u80kgs
SEAN STEWART (Lycans MA) v CIARAN BROHAN (T-45) u70kgs
PAUL LUKOWSKI (Notts MMA) v CHRIS COLTRANE (SBG) u100kgs
PAUL WEBB (Next Gen) v MARK MACQUEEN (MNJJ) open weight
SHANE CURTIS (Notts MMA) v VILLE HEIKKONEN (Sigma JJ) u85kgs
WILL KAYE (Lakes BJJ) v PETRI MOILANEN (Sigma JJ) u77kgs
TOMMY YIP (ZR Team) v SAM TEAGUE (Checkmat) u65kgs
