UFC women’s flyweight fighter Hannah Goldy showed what good combat jiu-jitsu striking looks like during her recent bout at Medusa 4.
If regular Brazilian jiu-jitsu tournaments are a little too slow for those of you inflicted with MMA mania, maybe you should check out combat jiu-jitsu.
While it may not be the fastest growing sport in the world, combat jiu-jitsu has found it’s niche and succeeds in dragging Brazilian jiu-jitsu back to its self-defense roots. The rules are pretty simple: once you’re on the ground, you’re allowed to use open-hand strikes to slap and smash your opponent up, opening new opportunities for submissions.
Rubber guard pioneer Eddie Bravo is the man who invented the ruleset, and last week the fourth edition of his women only combat jiu-jitsu league Medusa held their fourth event in Playa Del Carmen Mexico, aired on UFC Fight Pass. Featured on that card: a special match between 10th Planet grappler Madelynne Wade and UFC flyweight Hannah Goldy.
The muscular Goldy has had a rough start in the UFC, going 1-3 in her four fights with the promotion since being drafted through Dana White’s Contender Series in 2019. Her last fight was a first round spinning back elbow KO loss to Molly McCann in July 2022. She certainly knows how to whip some a—, though, as this promotional video for Medusa shows.
Goldy took to combat jiu-jitsu like a fish to water, and her open-hand attacks were definitely more like powerful palm strikes than slaps. One clip from the video shows her cracking her opponent in the jaw. Another has her hammering away on her opponent, who is clearly not having a fun time.
Unfortunately for Hannah, she had the superior combat but not the superior jiu-jitsu. She would go on to lose to Madelynne Wade via armbar submission in the round 1 overtime.