The full lineup for Third Coast Grappling Kumite 7 has just been announced as the promotion has wasted no time in setting up the next edition of their $10,000 tournament. Their 6th Kumite event hasn’t even happened yet and already they’ve managed to book all 8 elite competitors for the first all-female Kumite. The last Kumite event ended with a little refereeing controversy but considering it was the only one to do so out of 12 events in total, it’s a relatively safe bet that this won’t be an issue moving forward.
The 6th Kumite event underwent some last-minute changes after a few competitors pulled out, so this event might also face an amendment or two but assuming all goes to plan, the 8 women competing for $10,000 on September 26th are as follows:
Andressa Cintra, Ana Carolina Vieira, Nathiely De Jesus, Nathalie Ribeiro, Raquel Pa’aluhi, Jena Bishop, Jessica Swanson, and Luiza Monteiro.
The level of competition that Third Coast Grappling has managed to procure for their all-female Kumite is incredibly high, with every single competitor apart from Jessica Swanson having won an IBJJF World Championship. Even Swanson is likely to join their ranks in the near-future seeing as she’s only 24 and has already won the competition at brown belt in 2018. The competitors have featured in a range of weight-classes from as low as 58.5kg to as high as 74kg but a number of them have medalled in the absolute division, so a weight disadvantage shouldn’t make much of a difference.
The tournament really is wide open and it’s impossible to tell which of the women will be able to take home the grand prize, although there one or two who stand out as favorites. Luiza Monteiro is easily the most decorated grappler, having spent nearly a decade competing and winning at the highest levels of the sport. Ana Carolina Vieira has had the most achievements of late, having won four IBJJF World Championship gold medals since 2017, while both Nathiely De Jesus and Nathalie Ribeiro are well-known as dominant forces in the female BJJ world.
The full Third Coast Grappling Kumite 7 event will be streamed live on FloGrappling on September 26th, click here to subscribe and watch.
