DECEMBER 03, 2022, LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND, UK. Another edition of GrappleFest just ended, the 14th of the British professional grappling show. As per usual, the event brought forth a few international names, mixing those with some of the best jiu-jitsu athletes Europe has to offer. The event was a pleasure to follow for the fans, with high-paced action and plenty of submissions for the count.
Among the most fun submissions of the day was Shane Curtis’s creative shoulder lock over Ville Heikkonen, and Rosa Walsh’s technical armbar for the 70-kilogram GF belt – a match well-worth revisiting. Below are the main card results of GrappleFest 14 and our report on the main bouts.
U90KG GF TITLE
– Eoghan O’Flanagan def. Jacob Couch via decision
Defending Grapplefest light-heavyweight champion, Eoghan O’Flanagan (ENG) was able to maintain his title with a good performance against a very solid opponent. Arguably, the best no-gi brown belt in the world right now, Jacob Couch (USA).
As we discussed in our preview report, the bottom player would likely have an advantage here and strategies would play a big role in the outcome. As such, it was surprising to see Couch accepting Eoghan’s guard pull with no hesitation.
Although with excellent movement from the top, Couch could not get any close submissions on the British athlete, while O’Flanagan did appear to have the more dangerous attacks. In the end, despite this being a very even match, the judges chose in the New School BJJ representative’s favor.
U70KG GF TITLE
– Rosa Walsh def. Gabi Shuck via armbar
An armbar hunter by nature, Walsh did not miss an opportunity to steal an arm from Shuck, while in top-half-guard. Patiently tenacious, Rosa stuck to the arm for a while, “cooking” Gabi as the Brazilian defended well. Once she found the right opening it was all over.
Another fun and aggressive performance by Rosa who started the match by taking Gabi down with a beautiful high amplitude takedown and then exchanging a few inside heel hook attacks with the ZR Team challenger until the defining half-guard moment.
U65KG GF TITLE
– Julia Maele def. Nadine Tavares via kneebar
Brown belt Tavares took the match to the experienced black belt European champion and ADCC EU Trials winner, Maele, early on. Fearless and aggressive, Nadine had strong attacks on Julia’s feet, using K-guard and reverse DLR to create space under the pressure passer, Maele, and attack a very tight toe hold and inside heel hook.
Julia remained patient, trying her hardest not to expose herself for the first 5 minutes of the clash, maintaining a defensive posture until she found an entry for a kneebar off of a wrestle-up attack by Nadine. When she did, she took it—an entertaining match for the fans.
– Bradley Hill def. David Garmo via decision
One of the most fun matches to follow at GrappleFest 14. Both athletes exchanged very tight submissions at a furious pace. The victory could have gone either way, but in the end, it was Hill’s tight armbar on Garmo that likely sealed the deal for the judges.
– Chris Wojcik def. Bartek Lukaszewicz via decision
– Sam McNally def. Kev Corkhill via armbar
– Sean Stewart def. Ciaran Brohan via kimura
– Paul Lukowski def. Chris Coltrane via cross face / RNC
– Mark McQueen def. Paul Webb via north-south choke
– Shane Curtis def. Ville Heikkonen via shoulder lock
– Will Kaye def. Petri Moilanen via decision
– Tommy Yip def. Sam Teague via inside heel hook
