F2W 155 dropped an absolute unit of a card headlined by the phenomenal 10th Planet black belt Grace Gundrum and legendary F2W strawweight champion Pati Fontes. We saw a ton of action from fights throughout the evening, and we’re here to give you some of the highlights!
Brief shout out to my teammate and engine of destruction Gabby Etzel for her impressive win against a game opponent. As someone who’s been in that same triangle, I can say Sandra Chheng deserves a medal for standing up afterwards.
Fellow handsome, Christian, BJJ podcast host Jake Watson had a hard fought win against Matheus Luna in one of the last gi matches of the evening. Jake started off with a feint before pulling guard. Quickly able to sweep, he then worked to pass de la riva guard on his left side. Luna tried to get a lasso/spider guard going, but Watson’s height helped him defend. Watson sat back to attack Luna’s left leg, but ended up putting Luna in full guard before being reset at center.
4:20 left on the clock as Watson tries to hip bump sweep but fails. Luna slams but Watson keeps the guard. Watson hits a berimbolo for a sweep, and goes to attack the ankle lock. Luna goes to attack the back with his leg still caught, and they’re reset. Another bolo from Watson gave him the sweep ad saw him attacking the leg yet again. Several transitions between the two made scoring the match rather puzzling, but by a narrow margin Watson seemed the more active in attacking submissions.
With seconds left Watson secured the best ankle lock attempt of the match before being reset. Luna escaped, however, and the clock ran out before more attempts are made. Judges quickly awarded Watson the unanimous decision.
Tons of love for the gi all around as the co-main gave us Unity BJJ killer Devhonte Johnson against 2019 Pans champion Vinicius “Trator” Ferreira. Johnson began the match with grip fighting and numerous foot sweep attempts. Ferreira then pulled to closed guard and quickly attempted to lasso Johnson’s right arm. This proved critical, as the lasso halted nearly all of Johnson’s efforts to pass. Even killing the right leg failed to help for most of the match.
Johnson sprawled to kill the lasso and work the stack pass, but Ferreira was able to turtle and stand before the pass was complete. Ferreira again pulls to closed guard with two minutes on the clock. He again works the lasso on the same side, and Johnson was stalled. With a minute left Johnson nearly passed, but Ferreira maintained guard until the bell rand. Johnson was then awarded the decision.
The main event saw the further building of hype for one of the most intriguing young prodigies active in the sport today! Gundrum vs Fontes has a lot to unpack despite the early finish, so let’s jump right into it!
Gundrum immediately sat and Fontes wasted no time trying to control her ankles. Taking an opening, Fontes went to pass but Gundrum was able to lock her in closed guard before she cleared her legs. What followed is possibly the most physical match we’ve seen the young phenom in thus far.
Utilizing her textbook 10th Planet toolkit, Gundrum breaks Fontes’ posture and works to secure the Dead Orchard. In response, Fontes utilizes her strength in not one, not two, but three hard slams from inside closed guard!
First slam comes after Grace locked in her legs the figure four. Failing to break her position, Fontes focuses on keeping her right arm away from Gundrum. Another slam and Gundrum looks about as troubled as a sleeping puppy, completely unconcerned. A third slam achieving little, Fontes actually falls and allows Gundrum to mount before regaining her top position.
But it’s in vain. Securing the right arm, Grace wins yet another massive contest via Dead Orchard and is now the 155 F2W champion.
With nowhare to go but up, Gundrum is proving to be a leader in the new generation of grappling superstars. I hope to God no one pisses her off. Hats off to F2W for putting on yet another incredible event.
The Dead Orchard has proved to be a signature move for Gundrum in her insainly succesful career thus far. For more info on the history of the move, Here’s an insightful video featuring the move’s OG innovator and fellow 10P black belt Nathan Orchard!
What weight class was Grace’s fight at?