Grappling Report: Two new champions crowned at Grapplefest 14

Grapplefest 14 took place this past weekend and in total, there were three belts on the line at the end of the night. First up was the women’s under 65kgs division, where Julia Maele and Nadine Tavares competed for the inaugural title. Maele was calm under pressure throughout and ended up securing a kneebar to force the tap and claim the belt, shortly before Rosa Walsh and Gabi Schuck battled for the inaugural under 70kgs title.

Walsh was aggressive from the start and was clearly hunting for the armbar, wasting no time at all in finishing it once she had it. The final match of the night saw Eoghan O’Flanagan defending his under 90kgs title against Jacob Couch and although Couch put up a…