Grace Gundrum has long been one of the most highly-regarded prospects in the BJJ community, but she has been away for the competition scene for quite some time now. That is, until the women’s 125lbs grand prix at Finishers 18 takes place on January 15th, 2023. Gundrum will be among the eight women who will be battling it out in the tournament, one which offers competitors a unique format. They will be split into two groups of four and will have three matches each, with the two groups engaging in a round-robin tournament. Once the winner of each group has been decided, those two women will then meet in the final to determine the grand prix champion.
Gundrum has been very busy as a teenager and was racking up wins against adult competitors on a regular basis for years. In fact, she was often regarded as one of the most impressive young talents to emerge from 10th Planet Jiu-Jitsu. The last time she was seen in competition was back at the WNO Championships, where she was invited to compete in 115lbs division for the promotion’s inaugural title. Gundrum gave a fantastic account of herself by defeating Danielle Kelly by decision in the opening round, before submitting another young prodigy, Jessa Khan, with a twister in the semifinal. She then met Mayssa Bastos in the final and although she gave it all she had, she lost the decision and had to settle for a silver medal at the event.
It’ll be interesting to see how Grace Gundrum has been able to use her time away from BJJ competition and if she’s managed to add any elements to her game. She isn’t the only talented young grappler competing at Finishers 18 either though, as Pat Shahgholi will be defending his heavyweight title against Steve Joachim and Trinity Pun will be defending her title for the second time against Molli Zborowski.
The news that Grace Gundrum is due to return to BJJ competition at Finishers 18 was announced in a post to the promotion’s official Instagram account:
