One Day Until WF Invitational 2: Who’s Excited?
Written by Lucy Dunnet, Wednesday 18th September 2024
With only one day to go until our second-ever Women Who Fight Invitational (WFI), we are seriously struggling to contain our excitement. So, to prevent any too-hyped-up-induced accidents, we have channelled our excitement into a nostalgic recap of last summer’s inaugural WFI (which you too can watch HERE), a sneak peek into the minds of each of our WFI2 athletes, and a quick dive into the rule set.
Last Year’s WF Invitational
Our sprawl down memory lane began with the first match-up between Rosa Walsh and Julia Maele, two of the most decorated grapplers on last year’s card. It was certainly an enjoyable first match, with both athletes pushing the pace; the clock was flashing 30 seconds left when commentator Bradley Hill announced, “So at this point, we need something wild like a flying armbar.” Did we see a flying armbar? No. But what we did see was Julia jump guard straight into a guillotine, earning a “beautiful way to end the match” from Bradley. We can’t wait to see if this year’s first match between Amanda Pamela Nicole and Zoë Lundy will set an equally exciting pace.
There were several breath-holding, watch-through-your-fingers moments during the tournament, but none so intense as the fight between Nadine Tavares De Silva and Selma Essahli Vik. The constant attacks from Selma, matched by Nadine’s astounding ability to twist and turn out of the most uncomfortable-looking positions, made this a nail-biter from start to finish. Nadine may have won on points, but Bradley Hill and Sam Cook declared Selma the day’s “standout athlete” for her relentless submission hunting throughout every match, throwing caution to the wind and being willing to lose on points in the name of searching for those submissions. Who will be declared this year’s standout, submission-hunting dark horse?
Speaking of submissions, last year’s champion, Sula-Mae Loewenthal, took home not one, not two, but three limbs: one neck (via RNC against Nadine) and two arms (via straight armbar against Martina Zola and mir lock against Julia in the final). Silver medalist Julia also displayed a dominant submission performance, securing the first submission of the tournament against Rosa, and later a closed guard kimura against Anna Castells Rabarte in the last 7 seconds of their fight. The total number of submissions at last year’s Invitational was a whopping 8; can this year’s athletes prove that they are even hungrier for the submission win?
“And that’s women’s Jiu Jitsu everybody. Crazy back-and-forth action and still ending in a submission.” Bradley Hill, on Julia Maele’s win against Anna Castells Rabarte
From the multiple octopus guards and dog fights to a giraffe triangle, last year was host to an exotic zoo of BJJ positions, and we cannot wait to see what creatures we are graced with this year. Will we get something as “outrageous” as Selma’s inside heel hook finish from the giraffe triangle position? Or perhaps “one of those counters you only see on Instagram” like Sula-Mae’s forced turtle straight into a back take. On every Jiu Jitsu practitioner and fan’s bucket list is to see a show that leaves them exclaiming: “[I’m] still picking my jaw up off the floor…that’s one of the most outrageous submissions I’ve ever seen in my life.” Prepare to tick this off your list for a second time on Thursday at 7pm BST.
WF Invitational 2
One of the only things more (okay, perhaps not more, but at least ‘equally as’) exciting than watching women’s Jiu Jitsu is listening to fantastic female fighters commentate the matches. This year’s invitational will be commentated by Fi Mortell, Fiona Middleton, and Violet Bennet: a more talented trio you could not find.
Prelim: Libby Genge V Madison Murphy
Bracket A
Amanda Pamela Nicole
Melissa Mullins
Zoë Lundy
Gabriella Ripepi
Bracket B
Martyna Kapuscinska
Injana Goodman
Ane Svendsen
Jaque Almeida
Each and every one of these athletes has an impressive track record of belts, wins, and limbs; the second WF Invitational is guaranteed to be one ferocious battle after another and we couldn’t be more buzzed. First up in bracket A will be everyone’s favourite Swiss black belt Amanda Pamela Nicole against the UK’s Zoë Lundy, and UFC fighter Melissa Mullins against Italian force Gabriella Ripepi. For bracket B, Norway’s dominant Ane Svendsen will face standout brown belt Injana Goodman, and fierce SBG competitor Jaque Almeida will take on Poland’s rising star Martyna Kapuscinska.
Let’s take a closer look at the assassins in Bracket A:
Amanda Pamela Nicole is the Swiss black belt you all love watching scrap. Representing East Coast Jiu-Jitsu in Dublin, Amanda’s fearless approach to competition has earned her double gold at both the Dublin and Geneva Opens, along with the 8th finalist spot at the ADCC West Coast Trials. As a brown belt, she secured Gold at the No-Gi Euros and Pans Gi.
Favourite Submission: I don’t have one. I’m delighted when I get any submission because it means that I’ve completed a sequence and that’s always satisfying as it means I did everything right.
Most Excited: To face people I haven’t met before. I always learn from competitions and new people, how they move and play.
Melissa Mullins is a UFC fighter and BJJ competitor. Representing Faber Jiu Jitsu, Melissa is a force to be reckoned with, boasting an extraordinary blend of MMA and grappling achievements. She is a signed UFC competitor, IBJJF World Champion in both Medium Heavy and Absolute divisions, and a 2x British Gi Champion.
Favourite Submission: For WFI2, I’d love to hit a rolling back take into any kind of choke submission from the back.
Most Excited: To test my skill and game against everyone and just hit some euphoric flow moments.
Zoë Lundy fights out of VT JiuJitsu, UK, under Leigh Remedios. A fearsome Brazilian Jiu Jitsu competitor, she won double gold at the IBJJF No-Gi European Championships, is a British Open Gi and No-Gi Gold Medalist, and a NAGA belt winner.
Favourite Submission: Face down rear strangle.
Most Excited: To fight in the final, whoever my opponent is!
Gabriella Ripepi is a dominant force in the Brazilian Jiu Jitsu scene. Representing MYB Gym, Italy, she has proven herself as a high-level competitor, being the 2024 ADCC Amateur Worlds Champion, 2023 IBJJF Europeans No-Gi Gold Medalist, and the AJP Worlds Silver Medalist.
Favourite Submission: Armbar, for sure. It is also my most-rated one.
Most Excited: To do the final with Ane. She is one of my favourite violent wrestlers in Europe and I have been visualising and dreaming about this moment.
Next up, we have the badasses in Bracket B:
Martyna Kapuscinska is a rising Brazilian Jiu Jitsu star from Team Grappling Krakow, Poland. She has already made a strong impact on the competition scene, most recently becoming the Polish National ADCC Weight and Open Pro Champion and winning silver at the European Championships in the Gi.
Favourite Submission: Inside heel hook.
Most Excited: For all of the matches. All of the chosen girls represent a very high level of Jiu Jitsu which makes me excited to try my skills against both athletes I have already fought and new opponents.
Injana Goodman is a standout brown belt from Grapple Collective, East London. Her achievements so far include Gold at the IBJJF No-Gi Worlds and No-Gi Europeans at purple belt, and a silver medal at the ADCC Trials earlier this year. Her relentless work ethic and sharp technique set her apart as one of the top competitors in her division. Injana is also WF Headquarters, Myriad Jiu Jitsu’s, new no-gi coach!
Favourite Submission: Has to be an armbar.
Most Excited: For a match with Ane. Last time we faced each other it was a really close match, so it should be an exciting and competitive rematch.
Ane Svendsen is one of Norway’s top Brazilian Jiu Jitsu athletes and represents Mavericks Jiu Jitsu. She has proven her dominance as a black belt, winning gold at the European ADCC Trials and earning two silver medals at the European Championships. At brown belt, she won gold at the World No-Gi Championships and three golds at the European Championships.
Favourite Submission: Probably taking the back and getting a choke from there. Lately, I’ve also become interested in leg attacks and have started exploring that. It always feels great when you can secure a solid submission from there.
Most Excited: About fighting everyone! But if I have to choose, probably a possible final with Amanda or Melissa. I know Amanda is strong and technical and has done really, really well. Additionally, it would be really cool to have a match with Melissa. Since she’s a UFC fighter, I expect a lot of drive and action.
Jaque Almeida is a fierce Brazilian Jiu Jitsu competitor and represents SBG HQ in Ireland. As a brown belt, she has already made her mark on the international stage; she won silver at the IBJJF European Championships, gold at the IBJJF World Championships, and has multiple titles in Opens across London, Portugal, and Dublin.
Favourite Submission: Triangle from the back.
Most Excited: For everyone. But Ane in particular as we helped each other at Worlds; she is a phenomenal athlete and I would love to see my game against her beautiful style.
The excitement, with a light sprinkling of adrenaline-filled nerves, is palpable among all of these athletes; who do you think will rack up the most points and take home the WF Invitational 2 prize money and title? Oh, and Ane Svendsen, protect your arms, because Injana Goodman and Gabriella Ripepi are preparing to take them from you.
Women Who Fight Invitational Rules
WF Invitationals use a No-Gi Grand Prix style rule set with 6-minute matches. Let’s hope our athletes are submission-hungry because a submission win gets you 3 points, a points win 2 points, and both athletes get 1 point for a draw. There will be two groups of four athletes, with the first round being a round-robin format where the athletes fight everyone in their group, racking up points. If at the end of the group stages, two athletes are drawing on points, we will see them enter a 3-minute sudden-death match to decide who goes through to the final for the chance to win £2.5k and the glory of being WFI2’s champion. Athletes will score 1 point for any of the following: takedown, guard pass back control (including triangling the legs), mount and back mount, sweep, or stoppage out of bounds with submission locked in.