Event: 2026 Midwest Beach Wrestling Nationals
Date: Sunday, August 2, 2026
Venue: Captain Ron’s, Sunrise Beach, Missouri — Lake of the Ozarks
Live Stream: MMA Futures
The 2026 Midwest Beach Wrestling Nationals hit the sand at Captain Ron’s on the Lake of the Ozarks this Sunday, August 2 — and tournament director Scott Cutbirth says it will be the largest Midwest beach wrestling event ever held. The field includes a three-time world champion, team duels for the first time in event history, and the biggest women’s turnout the tournament has ever drawn. Every mat streams live, all day, on MMA Futures.
What Is Beach Wrestling? The Whole Sport in Four Rules
If you have never watched beach wrestling, you will understand it before your first match ends. Ed Duncan of USA Beach Wrestling, who runs the national Tour of America series, puts it plainly: a takedown is one point, a pushout is one point, a throw straight to the back is three — first to three wins, in a single three-minute period. “You will not get bored at a beach wrestling tournament,” Duncan said in an MMA Futures interview, and the format backs him up: no overtime, no long ground battles, no waiting.
Cutbirth — who officiates beach wrestling internationally, with assignments in Romania, Greece and Croatia — says the one rule first-time viewers get wrong is what happens when a knee touches the sand. A knee touch is not automatically a point against you. If a wrestler takes a penetration step, the knee grazes the sand, and the score is finished in one continuous action, it counts. It only costs a point when the action dies. “You can watch beach wrestling for four or five minutes and pretty well have a good understanding of how the sport works,” Cutbirth said. “At the end of the day, it’s still wrestling.”
For MMA fans, promoter and commentator David Mirikitani argues beach is the most cage-relevant form of wrestling there is: the low shots disappear, and what remains — high singles, body locks, hand fighting, and controlling the center of the ring — is exactly what transfers to a fight. The grinding ground game that casual fans skip past does not exist here. Someone touches down, the point goes up, and they restart.
A Three-Time World Champion on the Sand
The headline name in the field is Eliana Bommarito — a three-time UWW Senior Beach World champion from Brighton, Michigan, and the most decorated American in the sport, with a U.S.-record 12 Beach World Series medals, ten of them gold. Before conquering the beach, Bommarito was the first female wrestler in Michigan history to win four state high school championships.
Cutbirth hopes to involve her in the beginners’ clinic between sessions — a chance for first-time competitors to learn the sport from the best in the world, minutes before they wrestle it.
She will not be the only elite on the sand. Multiple current U.S. beach world team members are expected to compete, several from within an hour of the venue.
Every event streams live and on demand — full cards, replays, and the archive.
Watch on MMA FuturesThe Biggest Field in Event History
Speaking to MMA Futures on July 28, Cutbirth said registration was tracking toward the largest Midwest beach event ever: close to 170 competitors who have never wrestled beach before, men’s open brackets running 16 and possibly 32 deep, the largest youth brackets in event history, and the highest women’s participation the tournament has ever recorded. A team from Texas and a Jackson County squad headline the new duals competition.
The duels are Cutbirth’s addition this year, and they come from his time leading Missouri’s girls wrestling program to a national duals title. “That camaraderie is just different,” he said — recalling the first year of sanctioned girls high school wrestling in Missouri, when a girl who had just won her state semifinal ran across the arena to cheer for a summer teammate from the other side of the state instead of celebrating her own win.
Schedule: First Whistle 8:30 AM
| Time (Central) | Session |
|---|---|
| 8:30 AM | Team duels — first whistle |
| ~10:00 AM | Beginners’ clinic |
| ~10:30 AM | Individual tournament begins |
| Afternoon | Brackets through finals and awards |
The setting is part of the show: competition rings on the sand at Captain Ron’s, a short walk from the water on one side and food and drinks on the other. Family-friendly, all day, on the lake.
How to Watch the 2026 Midwest Beach Wrestling Nationals Live
The 2026 Midwest Beach Wrestling Nationals stream live and exclusively on MMA Futures — every ring, from first whistle to the final awards.
MMA Futures has covered Midwest combat sports since 2012 and carries live MMA, wrestling and grappling events across the region on one subscription. Can’t make it to the lake? Watch live from anywhere, Sunday, August 2.
One subscription covers every event on the platform — including Air Capital Combat 3 in Wichita on Friday, August 7 and Synergy FC 30 in Kansas City on Saturday, August 8, five and six days after the sand settles.
Watch the 2026 Midwest Beach Wrestling Nationals live on Sunday, August 2, exclusively on MMA Futures. Subscribe now to stream every event.
