JANUARY 30, 2021, MIAMI, FLORIDA was once again the home for Fight 2 Win, this time a very special show for the grappling promotion as it was its first all-female event. Female athletes, female refs, female judges, and female commentators.
Among the highlights of the event were the 4 main card matches, all of which featured the top of jiu-jitsu’s food chain. The quality, pace, and intensity of these fights did not disappoint, something we will report on below. But first, the event’s stats, recorded from purple belt and above:
22 Recorded Adult BJJ Matches 8 submissions (36% sub rate)
– 7 Gi Matches: 4 submissions (57% sub rate)
– 15 No-Gi Matches: 4 submissions (27% sub rate)
ALZUGUIR BEATS STAACK IN VERY EVENT MATCH
In a hard found battle between two legends of the sport, it was 2009’s ADCC champion – Luanna Alzuguir – who came out the victor. Well known for her wrestling and top pressure, Hannette Staack started out well, forcing the top position and pressing the action on Alzuguir, who was forced to turtle to avoid the pass. Staack continued to press, getting the seat-belt position, a scramble saw a change in the tempo of the bout and Luanna looking for the Brazil 021 founder’s back.
The match was hard-fought, exciting, and very evenly matched. We would be hard-pressed to pick a winner here, but if we had to, we would have chosen Staack for having, positionally, been the more dominant athlete. The judges saw it the other way around, not a shocking decision either.
TUBBY TAKES TATA RIBEIRO IN CONTROVERSIAL DECISION
When we expected to see a battle of guard players, these two showed us the complete opposite, a hard-fought match from standing. Ribeiro’s intentions were made clear from early on – she wanted to be the aggressive guard passer – pressing for takedowns and achieving top position.
Forced to work from the bottom, Amanda “Tubby” Alequin tried to reach for Nathalie Ribeiro’s legs, hoping to attack the feet, but Nathalie looked too strong and weary of Tubby’s intentions, not giving anything away while always pressing forward. In the end, all three judges saw the match going to Amanda, another decision we did not see the same way.
ALENCAR BEATS MCCOMB IN AGGRESSIVE MATCH
Mix two wild athletes with unbreakable spirits and you will have yourself a scrap. This is exactly what happened in the Talita Alencar x Gabi McComb match. Spent almost entirely in its feet with very aggressive snap-downs, doubles, sprawls, Russian tie attempts, and whatever else these two threw at each other, the match did end up in the stands on a couple of occasions.
In another even match, with not much conceded by either athlete, it was Talita who pulled guard to get the action going on a couple of occasions, an attitude that likely edged her in the judges’ eyes. Split decision win for Talita.
GUEDES IS THE NEW MIDDLEWEIGHT QUEEN!
In just a little over 6 months as a black belt, Rafaela Guedes beat none other than Jessica Flowers, Maria Malyjasiak, Elisabeth Clay, and Gabi McComb. With few top-shelf challenges left in her division, Rafaela turned to the most dominant middleweight of the modern era, Ana Carolina – 3x black belt world champion – a challenge accepted by the Julio César student.
The match was as intense as we were expecting, with both athletes going to war standing and on the floor. There weren’t many dangerous submission attempts thrown as both were evenly matched, and every position was closely fought. During these strong dynamics, Guedes did appear to be the stronger, more athletic of the two (not an easy feat against Carolina). These were the tools that stood out the most in this epic clash. Expect to see these two again in the foreseeable future, hopefully with the gi next time.
– No-Gi Match: Rafaela Guedes def. Ana Carolina Vieira via decision
– No-Gi Match: Tubby Alequin def. Nathalie Ribeiro via decision
– No-Gi Match: Talita Alencar def. Gabrielle McComb via split decision
– No-Gi Match: Luanna Alzuguir def. Hannette Staack via split decision
– No-Gi Match: Erin Harpe def. Maggie Grindatti via decision
– No-Gi Match: Sofia Amarante def. Jessica Rodriguez via decision
– Gi Match: Elizabeth Mitrović def. Tara White via decision
– No-Gi Match: Fiona Watson def. Mariana Dias via decision
– No-Gi Match: Pamela Boveda def. Yani Reyes via decision
– No-Gi Match: Stefanie Kopacz def. Brittney Elkin via decision
– Gi Match: Madeline Kahan def. Sharon Emde via split decision
– No-Gi Match: Ana Nascimento def. Liz Exell via split decision
– Gi Match: Mo Black def. Vanessa Arango via decision
– No-Gi Match: Anna Hyvarinen def. Amber Agee via standing guillotine
– No-Gi Match: Joy Pendell def. Jasmine Rocha via split decision
– Gi Match: Miranda Galbán def. Samantha Currier via kimura
– Gi Match: Caitlyn Rittenhouse def. Geovana Southgate via straight ankle-lock
– Gi Match: Abbigayle Tetterton def. Yasmeen Granados via mounted choke
– No-Gi Match: Ana García def. Nicole Matthew via toe-hold
– Gi Match: Stephanie Lee def. Bridgid Johnson via armbar
– No-Gi Match: Jasmine Rocha def. Sheree Kerns via straight ankle-lock
– No-Gi Match: Cathryn Ivy def. Catherine Transleau via inside heel-hook
