Long Beach, CA — Submissions on the Shore was a rather unique jiu-jitsu event this past weekend. Hosted on the Queen Mary in harbor in Long Beach, CA, the card, comprised entirely of female athletes, boasted a strawweight tournament. That tournament was eventually won by teenager Trinity Pun. Among the field was also Colorado Spring’s Gabrielle-Djoy Gomez.
Gomez made it past Ashley Reyes in the opening round of the tournament, before losing her match to Chelsi Aguayo. Post-fight, she discussed the experience with Cageside Press.
“Ten for the experience,” she said. “My performance could have been better, but we’re going to bounce back and do it again.”
Unlike some of the other competitors on the card, including Combate Americas’ alum Kyra Batara, Gomez was flying under the radar ahead of the event. “When I saw the line-up, I don’t really have a big name, I just got back into competing, so I really felt like I was the underdog” she admitted. “Also, I’m out of state, Colorado Springs. I expected going against a lot of No-Gi champs. I never underestimated anybody. I expected good fights.”
Being out of state, Gomez flew in earlier in the week — the Tuesday before the event. Her coaches traveled with her, which at least gave her some solid support.
The plan moving forward is now to take part in the The Pan-American Championship. The IBJJF tournament is the largest in North America, and will be new territory for Gomez. “I’ll be back for Pans,” she told us. “I haven’t done any big tournaments. For me, this was a big tournament.”
Watch the full interview with Gabrielle-Djoy Gomez above!
