Finishers Kombat 3
Elkin defends 170 lb title, Griffin crowned new 155 lb champ
This Sunday we saw another four women’s matches go down at Finishers HQ. Brittany Elkin defended her 170 lb title and Vanessa Griffin took the vacant 155 lb title. Here are how the matches went down.
Title fights
Brittany Elkin def. Sai’dah Durkee via RNC in regulation
The afternoon started off with a bang, with Elkin successfully defending her 170 title, which has been hers since this February. Elkin dominated from the top position, forcing and passing half guard, spending time in crucifix and mount, and ultimately finishing with a rear naked choke. Elkin is a black belt training at 10th Planet Bethlehem.
Vanessa Griffin def. Bridget McEliece via armbar in overtime
McEliece just had an excellent weekend at the ADCC Open, where she won the 70kg division with four out of four submissions, a 100% submission rate. (A breakdown of the ADCC Open coming soon!) Today, however, Griffin controlled the match, with an extremely active closed guard, flower sweeping McEliece in mount and staying heavy on top for the rest of the match. McEliece pulled ahead only in overtime ride time, which Griffin was able to nullify by armbar in the third round. Griffin is a black belt training at Crazy 88.
Superfights
Molli Zbrowski def. Karina Lagrana via armbar in overtime
Zbrowski spent nearly all eight minutes of this match’s regulation in Lagrana’s closed guard. Those on the IBJJF circuit will note that Lagrana has a very effective closed guard in the gi, which she used multiple times on her run to blue belt World champion and purple belt Pan champion. Although Zbrowski did not get the opportunity to launch her own game, she stayed out of danger and was able to submit her opponent in overtime by armbar. Zbrowski is a blue belt training under Daniel Gracie in Philadelphia.
Lilliana Ramos def. Amanda Mazza via triangle in regulation
Ramos dictated the pace of this match, running multiple takedowns - double leg, single leg, hip throw - on Mazza. She kept the pressure from standing to ground, transitioning through positional attacks and leg attacks, ultimately landing a triangle. Ramos is a 16 year old blue belt training in 10th Planet Newton.
Conclusion
This Sunday’s fights for both men and women were mostly all very exciting. It was nice to see how Griffin and Lagrana would do in the sub only format, as they are successful IBJJF competitors but don’t stray often from those tournaments. The men’s matches featured round robin bracket called “Money in the Bank” where the winner would get the whole purse. I think quite a few women would be interested in the same sort of competition. It would also be nice to see more female competitors, as I’ve already written about the same people multiple times. It makes sense since I watch mostly East Coast sub-only events, and a lot of matchups of local grapplers have already been done. If you’re reading this and are fighting soon, let me know! Maybe I’ll be writing about myself soon too 😉