Grapplefest 12 happened on Saturday, the 21st of May, Fusion Nightclub played host to one of the UK’s greatest Grappling events.
This card was STACKED! So many matches, one after the after. The organisation of this event was second to none. There was no hesitation between rounds.
The heavily lit centre mats, surrounded by the barriers, with the crowd above the mats and on the floor, all led to an electric, supportive crowd.
There wasn’t one ‘boring’ round. Every competitor was trying, strong, and technical, which made for an exciting night of grappling.
FIGHT OF THE NIGHT – Ladies
This was difficult as there were around 30 matches. However, one stood out for us, Rosa Walsh vs Sule -Mae Loewenthal.
The pivotal match which defined resilience and ‘bouncing back’ was that arm! Rosa did an excellent job of securing the armbar and putting it on tight! Sule-mae then rolled to get out of it, which turned the lock into a belly-down armbar. The elbow of Sule-mae must have been made of rubber at this point as we were convinced that it was broken. It wasn’t, and Sule – Mae managed to get out of it, and it went to a decision.
Rose ended up winning in a split decision and, it could have gone either way.
FIGHT OF THE NIGHT – Men’s
Owen Livesey vs Michael Pixley was the loudest fight of the night. Crowds were banging the boards attached to the barriers. The arena felt like something straight out of a Roman Colosseum!
Both fighters were on form, both cautious in their approach and precise with what they were doing. Pixley was sprawling on Livesey’s takedown attempts, and Livesey switched it up with some lead leg sweeps. There were a couple of moments where Pixley ended up in the crowd. At one point, we weren’t sure if Pixley had hurt himself, but all was well, and the match continued.
This match was made even spicier as some extra cash was on the table! The first person to takedown would win a £200 bonus from @ecarlease, and @mikehollisjoinery added another £150 bonus for the most takedowns! If you haven’t seen the whole fight – get yourself a FITE Pass.
FITE TV
You can watch all the action from Grapplefest 12, especially the two mentioned, but all of them are brilliant to see – on FITE TV Pass by clicking here.
We’re definitely looking forward to the next Grapplefest! Check out Chris Thompson (Founder of Grapplefest) Here
Featured image credits to Adam Phillips
