Ironman Grappling crowns 145lb champ Marissa Pacelli

...and notable mentions from Finishers, HCS, and Medusa

Last weekend purple belt Marissa Pacelli earned $1000 after defeating three tough opponents in the Ironman Grappling 145 lb tournament. The event showcased eight very active competitors along with several all women’s superfight card.

Results

Quarterfinals

Gabrielle Czernik def. Charlotte Wimberley via inside heel hook
This match was over in less than a minute, as Czernik immediately entered the saddle, putting Wimberly on the defense and ultimately submitting her.

Peyton Letcher def. Kaitlyn Boland via kneebar
Like the previous match, this match happened quickly as Letcher pulled off a shot and spun into a kneebar.

Ansley Cox def. Molli Zborowski via RNC
Cox wrestled to the back and used heavy pressure to pass and expose the back, where Zborowski was unable to turn out of a defensive cycle. Cox stayed steady and tight until exposing the rear naked choke.

Marissa Pacelli def. Michelle Marques via triangle
Marques had several quick attempts to pass and fall back on a leg, which Pacelli was hip to and immediately countered. She was then able to trap Marques in closed guard and lock up a high guard and triangle.

Semifinals

Gabrielle Czernik def. Peyton Letcher via wristlock
Letcher was able to counter most of Czernik’s entries into her legs with her own ability to drop back into an attack. Later, Czernik changed strategies and snapped on a triangle, where Letcher ultimately tapped to a wristlock.

Marissa Pacelli def. Ansley Cox via armbar
Cox engaged heavily with Pacelli’s guard, but was not as successful as she was in her quarterfinals match. Pacelli kept strong frames and shoulder locks, where she won with a razor armbar from knee shield.

Finals

Marissa Pacelli def. Gabrielle Czernik by decision
The two finalists exchanged legs for some time before Pacelli came up and passed from a cross body half guard. The match seemed pretty even until the pass, which most likely won Pacelli the decision and 1000 dollars.

Notable superfight

Kate Egan def. Yvonne Tautiva via armbar
Egan played an aggressive guard, from which she wrestled up and outside tripped Tautiva. From the top she spun into an armbar and won her match.

Overall observations

Most of the competitors were good at decision making under pressure, staying calm if they were passed or threatened by legs. It’s very difficult to know when to stick to and when to change your gameplan, and I thought Pacelli managed that tactic the best which paid off for her. We didn’t see many exchanges of top and bottom position, I’m guessing without the incentive of sweep points, competitors will stick to playing their preferred game.

In case you missed it…

I didn’t have much time in October to write, but there were quite a few good women’s matches on the weekend of the 22nd.

• At Finishers, brown belt Chelsea Mapa challenged Alex Nguyen for the 115 belt. She put up what might have been the most even match up Nguyen has recently encountered, entangling legs and preventing some of Nguyen’s nearly unstoppable passing. Nguyen eventually pulled off a slick back take, which Mapa escaped. Nguyen submitted Mapa by RNC in overtime.

• Hammer Challenge Series hosted an all women’s event on the same day, which Mapa also participated in and won. Ironman champion Marissa Pacelli had two superfights with HCS, both of which she won. In the main event, black belt Lydia Coleman pulled off a nasty toehold.

• The Medusa Female Only Jiu-Jitsu tournament really deserves its own post. Every match was filled with action, exciting comebacks, and lots of submissions. Claire North defeated two favorites, Sophia Cassella and Peyton Letcher by choi bar and kimura. Bre Stikk won the combat JJ bracket, which had tough opponents like Sheliah Lindsey, Kiaya Jackson, and Chrissy Briggs. There were simply no bad matches all night.