Finishers Sub Only Features First Grand Prix this Sunday
The Finishers Sub Only is back this Sunday, January 15, 2023, starting at 1 pm on Flograppling and kicking off live at 10th Planet Bethlehem in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. This event in particular will be switching up the typical format a bit with the first Finishers Grand Prix, featuring 8 women at 125 pounds. There will also be superfights and multiple title defenses to break up the Grand Prix action. Doors open at 11 am and spectators can pay $20 at the door to watch the event live.
For the Grand Prix, instead of doing a typical single elimination bracket, the 8 women will be divided into two teams – Team A and Team B. The teams will compete against each other round robin style, so each woman on Team A will go against the other 3 women on Team A, and the same applies for Team B. The matches themselves will be 10 minutes, with EBI overtime if needed. Points will be awarded to the competitors based on how they win their matches. 3 points will be awarded for a submission win in regulation, 2 points for a submission win in overtime, and 1 point for a win in overtime by escape time. Once the Team A and Team B matches are complete, the competitor from each team with the most points will move on to the finals. The finals will be 15 minutes, with a potential for EBI overtime. The winner of the Grand Prix will take home $2,000, and the other finalist will take home $500.
There are some familiar faces back for the Grand Prix, including 10th Planet Bethlehem black belt Grace Gundrum, who is back in action for the first time in over a year. Grace is undefeated on the Finishers stage and will be moving up in weight for the first time to compete at 125 pounds, having previously competed at 105 and 115 pounds. Another notable competitor and potential favorite to win the Grand Prix would be Alex Enriquez, who is the current 135-pound title holder for Finishers, among many other accolades. Previous Finishers title challengers Chrissy Briggs and Nicole Mathew will also be hopping in the Grand Prix to take their shot at the cash prize. Nicole recently had a very close match with Alex Enriquez for the 135 title back in December losing only by escape time in overtime. Chrissy has been competing more frequently in combat jiu jitsu as of late, appearing on the big stage in Medusa back in October and in Subversiv’s first CJJ team tournament in December, where she secured a slick armbar against a pro MMA fighter. Other Finishers veterans returning to action in the Grand Prix include purple belts Cece Mena and Cindy Ung. Cindy is also a previous title challenger at 135 pounds, which she went significantly up in weight for, as she typically competes at 115 pounds. The last two competitors in the Grand Prix are Gabby Maslanka and late replacement Erin Brinew, who are both looking to make more of a name for themselves with this step up in competition. Particularly with the Grand Prix format and potential to rack up points by getting submissions in regulation, it should be quite interesting to watch this one play out.
Finishers Champions Brittney Elkin (170lbs), Pat Shahgholi (Heavyweight), Faye Cherrier (105lbs), and Trinity Pun (145lbs) are all back to defend their titles this Sunday as well. There will also be one more title match with Ricky Pena battling it out with Dylan Garafolo for the vacant 170 lb title. The event will begin with the Grand Prix round robin matches for Team A and Team B. After those matches are complete, there is a full undercard of superfights to give the finalists of the Grand Prix some time to recover. The Grand Prix finals will follow the superfights and then the event will close with the four title fights.
