OCTOBER 02, 2022, LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND, saw the return of GrappleFest to its roots in the Merseyside of Britain after a short break from the norm with a show in Mauritius, Africa. GF is one of the top professional submission-grappling events in Europe, which has rapidly grown to become a well-known promotion across the globe, attracting many big names of jiu-jitsu in the past.
Due to unforeseen circumstances, a few of the most anticipated matches on the card had to be withdrawn, namely, Jacob Couch x Eoghan O’Flanagan, Kendall Reusing x Magdalena Loska, Ellis Younger x Sean Mcdonagh, nevertheless, quite a few fun matches were on display for the fans at the Fusion Night Club.
The first to impress last night was Nadine Tavares of Fightzone / Checkmat. Currently coaching at Fightzone Costa Blanca in Spain, Tavares had a tough challenge ahead against one of the top prospects of Gracie Barra in Sula-Mae Loewenthal. Tavares defeated the team GB Ambassador (sponsored athlete) quickly, in under 20 seconds with a tight toe-hold.
Also impressive was Will Kaye’ work against GrappleFest veteran Jack Tyley – who had beat the durable Jorge Valladares of Daisy Fresh back in GF11. This was a tough-fought battle, but in the end, it was Kaye’s conditioning and constant pressure that got the job done via decision.
Another quality talent on the mats was Rosa Walsh, an exciting brown belt from Ireland who impressed the heck out of everyone a few weeks ago at the ADCC Open in Las Vegas, a tournament she won with a submission win over one of the top #3 ranked lightweights in the world, Nathalie Ribeiro. At GF13 Walsh had another dominant win over Sara Greenwood, taking another W via armbar. One thing is for sure, give this young lady an inch and she will take your arm off.
In the open-weight division, American John Hansen retained his GF title with a very dominant win over London’s Arya Esfandmaz, while in the main event we saw a lackluster clash between Pedigo SF’s Jacob Couch and Silviu Nastasa – a veteran of UK’s grappling circuit.
Despite being lesser known to an international audience, Nastasa was able to shut down Couch’s guard, limiting the game of the American who did try his hardest to get things going but had no plan B against Silviu’s strong leg entry defense. Both grapplers remained at a stalemate throughout the match, which ended with The Hillbilly Hammer’s hand raised, rightfully so, for attempting more offensive maneuvers.
GRAPPLEFEST 13 RESULTS
– Nadine Tavares Def. Sula Loewenthal via Toe hold
– Will Kaye Def. Jack Tyley via RNC
– Adam Ellis Def. Troy Mercer via Buggy choke
– Shane Curtis Def. Ben Robson via Decision
– Shane Montague Def. Gabriel Daffron via Decision
– Shane Fishman Def. Stuart Cooper via Decision
– Rosa Walsh Def. Sara Greenwood via Armbar
– Matty Holmes Def. Max Bickerton via Decision
– Mike Grundy Def. Anders Svalsten via Decision
– Ashley Williams Def. Sean Stewart via Decision
– John Hansen Def. Arya Esfandmaz via Decision
– Jacob Couch Def. Silviu Nastasa via Decision
