Grapple In The Temple 5: For the Love of Grappling took place on February 16th, 2024 and there was some fantastic matches throughout the series of tournaments arranged for the event. There was both a blue and purple belt bracket that highlighted some exciting competitors, with Joseph Copeland and Ronnie Rodriguez winning them respectively. The men’s brown belt tournament was particularly interesting though, and Art of Jiu-Jitsu product Noah Chen made a big impression by showing a very well-rounded game and beating all three of his opponents.
The women’s 130lbs tournament provided some surprises though, as top competitors Cindy Ung and Sophia Cassella were competing in the bracket and neither of them won the title. They both had impressive finishes in the opening round, particularly Ung who submitted her first opponent in just 25 seconds, and then they met in the semi-final. Cassella won that match and booked her place in the final, but Yvonne Tautiva won both of her first two matches to stand opposite her and then beat Cassella by decision to win the tournament
The men’s 175lbs tournament was just as exciting too, with Danny Stolfi generating some highlight-reel moments in his first two matches and making it to the final. Andrew Kochel put in a solid performance on the other side of the bracket and had two very hard-fought decision wins to meet him. After some good moments from both men in the final match, Kochel locked up an arm-in guillotine with just 20 seconds left on the clock and squeezed to get the submission win in dramatic fashion.
Grapple In The Temple 5 Full Results
Men’s 175lbs Tournament
Kanan Clarke Jones defeats Matthew Dvorovy via Submission – Kimura
Andrew Kochel defeats Stephan Gristina via Decision – Unanimous
Danny Stolfi defeats Michael Haynes Moller via Decision – Unanimous
Josiah Belgrave defeats Lear Kirkland via Decision – Unanimous
Semi-Finals
Andrew Kochel defeats Kanan Clarke Jones via Decision – Unanimous
Danny Stolfi defeats Josiah Belgrave via Submission – Inside Heel Hook
Final
Andrew Kochel defeats Danny Stolfi via Submission – Arm-in Guillotine
Women’s 130lbs Tournament
Cindy Ung defeats Lisa Cai via Submission – D’arce Choke
Sophia Cassella defeats Rachel Yang via Submission – Inside Heel Hook
Yvonne Tautiva defeats Angela Joseph via Decision – Unanimous
Isadoria Friedlander defeats Olga Chang via Submission – Armbar
Semi-Finals
Sophia Cassella defeats Cindy Ung via Decision – Unanimous
Yvonne Tautiva defeats Isadora Friedlander via Decision – Unanimous
Final
Yvonne Tautiva defeats Sophia Cassella via Decision – Unanimous
Brown Belt Tournament
Noah Chen defeats Rasheed Perez via Submission – Outside Heel Hook
Michael Du defeats Oliver Lopez via Decision – Unanimous
Volodymyr Boryshkevych defeats Alvaro Rivero Valdez via Decision – Unanimous
Adam Bejaoui defeats Daniel Maldonado via Decision – Unanimous
Semi-Finals
Noah Chen defeats Michael Du via Decision – Unanimous
Adam Bejaoui defeats Volodymyr Boryshkevych via Submission – Inside Heel Hook
Final
Noah Chen defeats Adam Bejaoui via Decision – Unanimous
Purple Belt Tournament
Ronnie Rodriguez defeats Takehito Ikezai via Submission – Rear-triangle Armbar
Lisander Lopez defeats Alexis Ruiz via Submission – Straight Ankle-lock
Tim Kernan defeats Shamil Ramazanov via Decision – Unanimous
Jon Bianco defeats Dan Candelaria via Decision – Unanimous
Semi-Finals
Ronnie Rodriguez defeats Lisander Lopez via Decision – Unanimous
Jon Bianco defeats Tim Kernan via Decision – Unanimous
Final
Ronnie Rodriguez defeats Jon Bianco via Submission – Rear-naked Choke
Blue Belt Tournament
Joseph Copeland defeats Jariel Cross via Decision – Unanimous
Christopher Calderon defeats Daniel Orama via Submission – Straight Ankle-lock
Mohammed Abiad defeats Andre Zapico via Submission – Armbar
Ethan Burright defeats Zach Goldrosen via Submission – Inside Heel Hook
Semi-Finals
Joseph Copeland defeats Christopher Calderon via Decision – Unanimous
Ethan Burright defeats Mohammed Abiad via Submission – Straight Ankle-lock
Final
Joseph Copeland defeats Ethan Burright via Submission – Outside Heel Hook
