Samantha Faulhabe upsets University of Jiu Jitsu’s Kiri Lia in the finals of the open weight division to win a round trip ticket to Abu Dhabi to compete against the rest of the world’s top jiu jitsu athletes. Sam, as everyone calls her at Gracie San Diego, met Kiri on Saturday in the finals of their weight class. They fought a tough & highly technical match, during which Sam spent most of her time fighting to pass Kiri’s strong guard which in turn gave Kiri the 1 advantage point she needed to close out the division. Having taken second place in her division, Sam qualified to compete in the open class.
Sam would defeat the fierce Kristina Barlaa of Nova Uniao in the semi-finals by an advantage to put her back in the finals against her toughest match Kiri Lia. This time Sam was not going home with silver. The match started off strong, Kiri made a mistake & Sam took the opportunity to pass her guard. Kiri ended up making an even bigger mistake minutes later, giving Sam her back & set the stage for a clock- choke. Sam had a strong grip, leaped forward and posted her head on the ground applying the ever-so-tight choke until Kiri tapped. This exciting win gave Sam the golden ticket to compete in Abi Dhabi with the rest of the Gracie San Diego women’s competition team.
Congrats Sam, on this great win!