Finishers Heatwave Recap
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June 14, 2025
Crowds gathered, people cheered, and the town of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania was once again alive with an action-packed night of CJI rules submission grappling. Finishers Heatwave featured three title matches and an undercard filled with up-and-coming competitors, fast finishes, and dominant performances.
UNDERCARD
The night started with Derek Schmidt of 10th Planet Allentown finishing Clifton Park Submission Academy's Patrick Swertner with a mounted triangle near the end of Round 2. From there, Bergen County BJJ’s Cole Pfeufer put on an impressive display of positional dominance for all three rounds to take home the decision victory. Cole’s teammate Michael Grimes was next to face B-Team New Jersey’s Aaron Kurzer. Kurzer went on to score the quickest submission of the night, locking in a rear naked choke just one minute into Round 1.
Following suit, the next four matches of the undercard all ended in submission victories. First, another Bergen County BJJ competitor, Jimmy Gutierrez, took on Jonathan Lopez of Fight For Tomorrow Academy. Gutierrez secured the win with a rear naked choke late in Round 2, marking Bergen County’s second victory of the night.
The next match began with a quick double-leg attempt from John Romero of Bergen County BJJ, which led to a scramble for positional advantage against Eli Flores of 10th Planet Reading. Ultimately, Flores came out on top, finishing the match with a guillotine.
Next up was the only women’s match on the card, featuring 10th Planet Bethlehem’s Elizabeth Azar versus the host of the Jits and Giggles podcast and Freedom Jiu-Jitsu blue belt, Alysa Couce. Couce secured a standing body lock early, but struggled against Azar’s strong defensive wrestling. Eventually, Couce landed a takedown, progressed her position, and finished the match with a kimura.
In the final undercard bout, Justin Luna of Bones BJJ Academy faced Antonio Javier-Bompartito of Precision Jiu-Jitsu. It was a fast-paced, back-and-forth exchange that ended with Luna locking in a tight D'Arce choke to secure the finish.
TITLE MATCHES
Interim 205 lb Title – Kyle Myers vs. Justin Michael
The first title match of the evening was for the Interim 205 lb belt. After a short exchange on the feet, Myers, of Saga Jiu-Jitsu, established a strong collar tie and pulled Michael into his guard. Michael responded on the ground with several legitimate leg lock attempts. As the match wore on, Myers locked up tight rubber guard and secured a gogoplata to finish Michael, earning both the belt and the respect of the 10th Planet home crowd.
125 lb Title – Eric Naples vs. Ignacio Masis
This match had everything you’d want from a 125 lb title fight: technical leg exchanges, fast-paced passing, dynamic inversions, and guard retention that would break the mind of any average heavyweight. Naples took a bold shot early with a triangle attempt that nearly hit, opting to play guard for the remainder of the match. Coming all the way from Costa Rica, Renzo Gracie Costa Rica’s Ignacio Masis favored the top position and delivered a barrage of explosive, technical passes.
In the end, Naples racked up judges’ favor through constant submission threats and forward pressure, winning a unanimous decision to retain his title.
Heavyweight Title – Pat Shahgholi vs. Edmir Sokoli
The night closed with a classic battle of pressure vs. pace. Shahgholi sat to guard early, forcing Bergen County BJJ’s Sokoli to work from the top. Though Sokoli pressed forward with several dynamic passes, Shahgholi’s aggressive and creative guard constantly disrupted his rhythm. With a mix of deep submission threats, sweeps, and a late guard pass, 10th Planet East Long Island’s Pat Shahgholi retained his Finishers Heavyweight Title.
The full Finishers Heatwave replay is available now on FloGrappling.
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