Grapplefest 17 took place on November 18th, 2023 and there were some exciting matches and surprising results throughout both the preliminary and main card. One of the most surprising outcomes of the night came when UFC and PFL veteran Stevie Ray took on no gi grappling specialist Shane Curtis. Generally speaking the grappler tends to beat the MMA fighter when they face off in a grappling ruleset, but Ray actually managed to submit Curtis with a slick heel hook. There were several other superfights both before and after that match, but the night reached it’s conclusion with a pair of title-fights in the main and co-main event.
Ashley Bendle faced off against Mara Kelly for the vacant under 55kgs title at Grapplefest 17 and both women left it all on the mats in an attempt to deliver the results they needed and take home the belt. Bendle impressed with a solid performance that saw her win the match by unanimous decision and become the promotion’s new champion. Shortly after that, William Tackett was challenging Eoghan O’Flanagan for the under 90kgs title and many would have picked the reigning champion to retain his belt again. They would have been wrong though, as Tackett took the fight to him in a tough match and managed to get the nod from the judge’s to become the new champion.
Grapplefest 17 Full Results
William Tackett wins Eoghan O’Flanagan via Decision – Unanimous
Tackett wins the Grapplefest Under 90kgs Title
Ashley Bendle defeats Mara Kelly via Decision – Unanimous
Bendle wins the Grapplefest Under 55kgs Title
Kieran Kichuk defeats Ellis Younger via Decision – Unanimous
Max Bickerton defeats Jack Grant via Decision – Unanimous
Bickerton wins the Grapplefest Under 90kgs British Title
Shane Fishman defeats Ben Bennett via Submission – Armbar
Nora Schultz defeats Simone Caffrey via Submission – Rear-naked Choke
Josh Gibbs defeats Oskar Svels via Submission – Arm-triangle Choke
Stevie Ray defeats Shane Curtis via Submission – Heel Hook
Paul Lukowski defeats Thomas Bracher via Decision – Unanimous
Taylor Ellis Hishaw defeats Amy Derwanz via Decision – Unanimous
Saul Rogers defeats Lewis Matthews via Submission – Head and Arm Choke
Brad Boyden defeats Bradley Wills via Submission – Toe Hold
Danny Hughes defeats Bartek Lukaszewicz via Decision – Unanimous
Cristian Amador defeats Caleb Tackett via Submission – Aoki Lock
Preliminary Card
Luuk van Nieuwamerongen defeats Christian Ozbek via Decision – Unanimous
Dave Weston defeats Callum Grassby via Submission – Heel Hook
Jordan Kirk defeats Chris Regan via Decision – Unanimous
Joel Amador defeats Evan Reid via Submission – Rear-naked Choke
Jared Eaton defeats Luke Johnson via Decision – Unanimous
Jay Herridge defeats Josh Roberts via Submission – Armbar
Carson Coles defeats Marek Waedt via Decision – Unanimous
Vincenzo Bussoliti defeats Ant Olu via Decision – Unanimous
Ryan Mangan defeats William Timmis via Submission – Rear-naked Choke
Chris Edwards defeats Ross Widupp via Decision – Unanimous
Curtis Finch defeats Yousef Boukassem via Decision – Unanimous
Laila Ohlhoff defeats Moti Takwoingi via Decision – Unanimous
Stefan Biddles defeats Sean Rigby via Decision – Unanimous
Jack Levack defeats Patrik Kanik via Decision – Unanimous
Marco Bryden defeats Alfie Binyon via Submission – Aoki Lock
JJ Ekubia defeats Adam Hill via Submission – Rear-naked Choke
Lucy Stubbs defeats Dominika Krzeslak via Submission – Triangle Choke
Kieran Fletcher defeats Sam Barker via Submission – Arm-triangle Choke
Jamie Wright defeats Jimmy Wheeler via Decision – Unanimous
The Grapplefest 17 event replay, including all of the above results, is available to watch by pay-per-view here.
