No gi jiu jitsu has been on a meteoric rise as of late. With the 2022 ADCC Championships on the horizon, more grapplers are committing to full-time no gi training and more events are showcasing high-level no gi jiu jitsu matches. One of Europe’s premier jiu jitsu events has been GrappleFest, who hosted their 11th event this past Saturday night. GrappleFest 11, Daisy Fresh vs. Europe, featured many BJJ athletes from the popular FloGrappling series taking on highly ranked European no gi jiu jitsu grapplers. The top of the card featured three title bouts and delivered plenty of submissions, as nearly 60% of the matches ended with a tap. 

Ffion Davies and Kendall Reusing deliver action packed fight of the night

Ffion Davies is no stranger to fighting bigger opponents. The Welsh BJJ black belt, who normally competes as a feather or lightweight, won her weight and the absolute at the 2020 IBJJF Europeans. She also had a super fight with Tayane Porfirio at GrappleFest 9, giving up a considerable amount of weight. Her opponent at GrappleFest 11 was Kendall Reusing, an ADCC East Coast Trials and 2021 IBJJF Pan No-Gi champion. 

The match started with Ffion pulling guard and using variations of her de la riva and reverse de la riva positions. There was a bit of a feeling out process, but that changed when Kendall attacked a toe hold submission from the top, which Ffion defended and countered with a near sweep. Upon resetting in the middle of the mat, Ffion pulled guard again and looked to attack Kendall’s legs with various leg entanglement positions.

Kendall was very aware of all the attacks Ffion launched and defended them extremely well. Ffion’s best moment came about halfway through the match when she swept Kendall and then got past her legs with a knee cut, attacking an armbar before solidifying the pass. Kendall defended the attack perfectly, coming up to top position. From there Kendall started using her pressure passing again, locking her grip for multiple d’arce choke attempts that seemed to get tighter as she adjusted. Though Kendall didn’t get the finish, she earned the decision victory and claimed the GrappleFest open weight female title.

Dante Leon submits Mateusz Szczecinski to win -80kg belt

In the much hyped match that served as the main event, Dante Leon of the Daisy Fresh team took on Mateusz Szczecinski. Szczecinski is a leg lock specialist and looked to implement his game immediately by pulling guard. Dante was very well prepared, moving side to side to avoid the leg entanglements. At about the two-minute mark, Dante hit a diving knee cut pass. He held onto his under hook as Mateusz turned away, and Dante capitalized with a beautiful arm bar submission.

ADCC Trials winner John Hansen cruises to rear naked choke victory

The third title fight of the night was between ADCC East Coast Trials winner John Hansen and judo and BJJ black belt Jamie Hughes. Hansen pulled guard and swept almost immediately, getting right into his guard passing sequences. He used his passing and control throughout the match to eventually get to Hughes’ back. Once there, Hansen locked a body triangle and proceeded to hand fight for a rear naked choke, which he secured along with the GrappleFest male open weight title. 

Mikey Musumeci hits quick ankle lock

Another grappler who represented Daisy Fresh and Pedigo Submission Fighting was four-time world champion Mikey Musumeci. Most jiu jitsu and grappling fans are familiar with the American, who in addition to winning another IBJJF world title in 2021, also took a deep dive into no gi. One of Mikey’s highest percentages finishes in gi jiu jitsu is the straight ankle lock. He made the grip on Kev Corkhill’s ankle and never looked back, adjusting his grip and leg positioning until he got the tap about a minute into the match. 

Rosa Walsh finishes Marina Mavrou with an arm bar in action-packed match

GrappleFest veteran Rosa Walsh took on Marina Mavrou in an undercard bout that was one of the most action-packed of the night. In Rosa’s corner was Ffion Davies, and it was apparent that Ffion’s style has rubbed off on her. She used a beautiful combination of knee cut passing and pressure to shut down Marina’s attacks. Rosa worked her way to the mount and then transitioned to the back with a body triangle. Marina escaped and Rosa ended up on bottom. A sweep followed by another guard pass and mount led Rosa to a perfectly executed arm bar and submission victory. 

Full results can be found below:

Dante Leon def. Mateusz Szczecinski via submission (armbar)

Kendall Reusing def. Ffion Davies via decision

Mikey Musemeci def. Kev Corkhill via submission (ankle lock)

John Hansen def. Jamie Hughes via submission (rear naked choke) 

Jacob Couch def. Santeri Lilius via decision

Matty Holmes def. Brad Schneider via decision

Jack Tyley def. Jorge Valladares via decision

Owen Livesey def. Paul Lukowski via decision

Tommy Yip def. Chris Hayes via submission (rear naked choke)

Nadine Tavares def. Simone Caffrey via decision

James Duckett def. Des Parker via decision 

Harry McKnight def. Reece Doran via submission (inside heel hook)

Jay Butler def. Ciaran Brohan via submission (inside heel hook)

Rosa Walsh def. Marina Mavrou via submission (armbar)

Jeremy Pare def. Shane Curtis via submission (outside heel hook)

Kris Leeson def. George McManus via decision

Joshua Robertson def. Jack Brown via decision

Micheal Pixley def. Shay Smith via submission (d’arce choke)

Philippe Geyer def. Aidan Woodley via submission (inside heel hook)

Jack Grant def. Dave Weston via submission (inside heel hook)

Andrew Hardwick def. Amadeusz Arczewski via submission (inside heel hook)

Josh Cherrington def. Jack Levackvis submission (rear naked choke)

Lewis Ridley def. Ryan Graham via submission (neck crank)

Stefan Biddles def. Evan Reid via decision

Hayley Valentine def. Hannah Garrett via decision

Jakob Brooks def. Owen Phillips-Jones via submission (d’arce choke)

Johnny Dash def. Josh Taylor via submission (arm-in guillotine)  

Aman Alim def. Vinny James via submission (arm lock)

Tad Cravens def. Sam Barker via decision

Ashley Wagg def. Mark Wynne via submission (toe hold)

Jaimie Middleton def. Ellie Wright via decision

Jared Shafer def. Jack Hassard via submission (triangle choke)

Big congrats to Progress athletes who competed at the event showing their exciting style whilst picking up some major wins.

Check out some of our other articles:

European's Review

ADCC Trials Brazil