Midwest Finishers 18 took place on April 21st, 2024 and two teenage prospects delivered some incredible results on the mats in order to win the stacked tournaments that the promotion had arranged. There was some serious competition in both the men’s 145lbs bracket and the women’s 135lbs bracket, but not many people would have predicted who would emerge victorious in either one of them. The men’s tournament saw both Andrew DeGraff and Julian Espinosa storm into the final with three leglock submission wins each and although that was a very tough match for both men, it was 18 year-old DeGraff who came away with the win in EBI overtime and took home the title.
The women’s tournament was even more unpredictable though, as both of the two favorites to win the bracket didn’t even make it into the final match. Teshya Alo won her first two matches by ride-time in EBI overtime and met ADCC Trials winner Peyton Letcher in the semi-final, where she submitted her with an armbar in a dramatic EBI overtime round. The other side of the bracket saw 16 year-old Laylah Watkins win her first two matches by submission before submitting top contender Nicole Mathew in her semi-final match. The final was over in the blink of an eye, as Watkins locked up a heel hook against Alo to end the night with a perfect record of 4 finishes in regulation time.
Midwest Finishers 18 Full Results
Matt Lim defeats Larry Decristofaro via Submission – Armbar
Jack Cornwell defeats Levi Parrish via Submission – Straight Ankle-lock
Blake Harris defeats Jimmy Wheeler via Submission – Armbar
Justice Stanford defeats Courtney Labuy via Submission – Armbar
Men’s 145lbs Tournament
Opening Round
Andrew DeGraff defeats Jason Roberts via Submission – Heel Hook
Mando Gutierrez defeats Caleb Brown via Submission – Rear-naked Choke in EBI Overtime
Nick Sahf defeats Ramiro Vasquez via Submission – Heel Hook
Joey Diehl defeats Giovanni Rubio via Submission – Kneebar
Alex Hodi defeats Fabian Jimenez via Submission – Triangle Armbar
CJ Murdock defeats Michael Meneses via Submission – Armbar in EBI Overtime
Hashir Azam defeats Aaron Smith via Submission – Kneebar
Julian Espinosa defeats Edgar Garcia via Submission – Heel Hook
Quarter-Finals
Andrew DeGraff defeats Mando Gutierrez via Submission – Heel Hook
Joey Diehl defeats Nick Sahf via Submission – Kneebar
Alex Hodi defeats CJ Murdock via Submission – Smother
Julian Espinosa defeats Hashir Azam via Submission – Heel Hook
Semi-Finals
Andrew DeGraff defeats Joey Diehl via Submission – Toehold
Julian Espinosa defeats Alex Hodi via Submission – Toehold
Final
Andrew DeGraff defeats Julian Espinosa via Decision – Ride-time in EBI Overtime
Women’s 135lbs Tournament
Opening Round
Peyton Letcher defeats Rachel Llanas via Submission – Heel Hook
Beatrice Jin defeats Brittany Harder via Submission – Kneebar
Teshya Alo defeats Holly Martin via Decision – Ride-time in EBI Overtime
Martina Zola defeats Olivia Beeskau via Submission – Armbar
Nicole Mathew defeats Tayla Meredith via Submission – Triangle Choke
Claire Butterfield defeats Cristal Contreras via Submission – Triangle Armbar
Laylah Watkins defeats Riley Boyle via Submission – Toehold
Melanie Iverson defeats Fallon Johnson via Submission – Straight Ankle-lock
Quarter-Finals
Peyton Letcher defeats Beatrice Jin via Submission – Rear-naked Choke in EBI Overtime
Teshya Alo defeats Martina Zola via Decision – Ride-time in EBI Overtime
Nicole Mathew defeats Claire Butterfield via Submission – Straight Ankle-lock
Laylah Watkins defeats Melanie Iverson via Submission – Armbar
Semi-Finals
Teshya Alo defeats Peyton Letcher via Submission – Armbar in EBI Overtime
Laylah Watkins defeats Nicole Mathew via Submission – Straight Ankle-lock
Final
Laylah Watkins defeats Teshya Alo via Submission – Heel Hook
The full Midwest Finishers 18 event replay, including all of the above results, is available to watch on the promotion’s official YouTube channel:
