“Wooahhh,” ‘Lil Monster’ exclaimed, recapping the event. “This was a super-elite brown belt strawweight tournament, like we’re having the best of the best in the world up there on that stage, and you have a 14 year old orange belt, orange and black belt, crushing it! This girl won the whole thing, she just beat everybody. It was amazing to watch.”

“The control that [Pun] had, she was super calm, super composed, 100% high level professional athlete at 14. The world needs to look out because that chick is coming through, Trinity— remember that name.”

Everybody on the card, however, stood out to Demopoulos. “Everybody, honestly it was like really difficult because there was just so much explosion happening with every single match, all of these girls were getting after it.”

The show itself, she noted, was “a very EBI [Eddie Bravo Invitational] style with a lot of super fights in between, and I actually got to fight on first female EBI. So I know what that felt like talking out there and I would absolutely kind of put this in the same roundabout category which is dope because this is the first Submission on the Shore, and it was amazing.”

Demopoulos says she’ll definitely return for the next Submission on the Shore event. “Oh 100% you guys, I’ve always been a part of the jujitsu scene, that’s where I came from. I took some time off from MMA, about a 4 year layoff from MMA, just to do jujitsu. So like this is my bread and butter, my passion, my love. I’ll definitely be on the next card. Its just I was medically discharged because of my MMA fight.”

Watch our full interview with Vanessa Demopoulos above!

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Batara took part in the strawweight tournament at the all-women’s jiu-jitsu event. She got the better of Lauren Sears, Raquel Torres, and Gina Megui before falling to teenage sensation Trinity Pun in the tournament final.

Her first fight, against Sears, hit overtime. It’s something her father prepared her for early in life. “For me especially for the over time rounds — my dad drilled me so hard my entire career, it was like bed time stories,” she told Cageside Press following the event. “It was like ‘hey dad bye I’m going to sleep, I’m going to brush my teeth right now.’ ‘Oh you’re brushing your teeth? Cool, right after meet me on the mat,'” was her father’s response.

“Over time rounds, every single night, over time rounds, armbar, spider web and then back mount, he would just drill me, drill me. I had a sequence of like ten submissions, where we would cycle through ten submissions in a row,” she continued. “He would make me do it with my eyes closed, three times in a row, right before I go to bed. When I get into overtime I’m like, ‘I can do this in my sleep, I do this right before bed, I ain’t worried about nothing.'”

Going into the semi-finals, the plan was to “go in there with confidence. I don’t care who is in front of me I don’t care what names are signed up for this tournament, like ‘I’m here I’m Kyra “Mogwai” Batara and I’m here to make a statement.” That she did, and while she came up short in the final, the semi-final match saw her defeat Gina Megui via Americana. Three wins in a night, not too shabby for Batara.

Watch the full interview with Kyra Batara from Submissions on the Shore above!

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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!

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The match was over is just ten seconds, with Kuhar getting her hand raised.

Speaking to Cageside Press after the event, Kuhar reflected on a fight that was, in essence, shorter than her warm-up. “I was really warmed up. I just hate going into a tournament super cold, so I think I was on it about that,” she said. “It was awesome. I stuck to the game plan, the same game plan my boyfriend and I have been working on for the past three months, just being prepared for this. And it worked.”

The fact that the opening was just right there immediately was certainly something to celebrate. But it’s also a testament to her preparation, during which she ensured her body would be ready.

“I felt like during this roll— usually I overthink things, but this time I really focused on my breathing so the nerves wouldn’t get me,” she explained. “I just feel like my body did the work. It’s all the reps I’ve been working on, drilling twice a day for six days a week. I feel like that really showed.”

Even if her body wasn’t ready for it, Kuhar added, at least her body would be. She even took to utilizing yoga to help with her balance. In this case, yoga with weights. “Warrior 1, 2, and 3. Goddess pose. Holding those squats with weights. Doing jumping squats.” It’s repetitive motions, with complete control, she said. “Versus being reckless when you’re rolling.”

“I think technique is just really important,” she later added.

Watch our full interview with Kirsten Kuhar above!

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The jiu-jitsu event was held aboard the Queen Mary, docked in harbor in Long Beach. Quite the setting for Pun’s triumph.

“I’m speechless,” she told Cageside Press following the tournament. “I feel like I’m in a dream. I can’t wake up. Oh my god, the money, I got it. All my hard work paid off.”

Pun, an orange belt, submitted Paulina Granados via triangle in the opening round. She also picked up wins over Jess Khan and Chelsi Aguayo (in a particularly exciting match) before facing Batara in the final.

Once again, to seal the deal, she used a triangle to pull off the win — defeating the Combate Americas alumni, and claiming the prize in the process.

Going through her mind, said Pun, “I was just thinking— I went all the way here, all the hard work, all the moves, the whole, over time, each opponent, I was like ‘I have to finish this. I can’t quit now, if I do, it’s over.'”

It’s an impressive feat for a young teen still juggling homework with training. But while she’s still focusing on her studies, with the goal of hitting 80s and above, Pun also plans to continue competing. “I have a lot of tournaments and super-fights coming up,” she said. “It’s all packed.”

Keep an eye out for her in the future.

Watch our full interview with Trinity Pun above!

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