Brooke Fahey wins title belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu superfight

SPARTA — Brooke Fahey, 16, has been excelling in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu tournaments across the Northeast since she first began training in 2014 and her success has earned her a reputation as one of the brightest young competitors in New Jersey. Fahey led the Miller Brothers MMA & Fitness Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu team in 2016 with 5 gold medals and 5 silver medals in her 10 tournaments, improving her career first-place haul to ten and earning Fahey an invitation to compete in a grappling superfight at the 2017 United Grapplers Association Spring Open. Fahey faced off against Gabby Etzel, another highly-rated Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu prospect, earning a hard-fought victory over the talented Etzel in front of a cheering crowd.
Fahey trains under First Degree Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Black Belt Sean Santella, and prepared for the bout by training five nights a week at Miller Brothers MMA & Fitness in Sparta, NJ as well as making the trip on Saturday mornings to Nick Catone’s MMA in Brick. Professor Santella worked to create a specialized training program for Fahey designed to counter what Etzel does best, and Fahey executed the gameplan to perfection on the night of the superfight. Fahey forced Etzel to grapple where Fahey wanted the match to take place, and used the constant threat of submissions to prevent her opponent from attacking, as well as earn the two advantage points for nearly submitting Etzel which won Fahey the match.
"Everyone is very proud of Brooke," said her training partner Bobby Ingram. "She's one of the most-dedicated and hardest working students in the gym, and it shows when she competes. Every time she enters a match she's an entirely new grappler from her last tournament."
Fahey was not the only member of Miller Brothers MMA & Fitness in action at the Spring Open. She was joined by her teammate Jason Cummins, of Wharton, NJ, who competed in the tournament which preceded Fahey’s superfight. Cummins left with a medal for his hard work as well, taking 3rd place in the Men’s White Belt Gi tournament.