In the main event of UFC BJJ 11, at the Meta Apex in Las Vegas, held this Thursday, the 24th, Mikey Musumeci came out on top in a fight with no belt on the line. The bantamweight champion, ‘Darth Rigatoni’, faced the UFC MMA fighter in a grappling bout contested at lightweight. Mitchell’s controversial personality helped build anticipation for the matchup, and Musumeci rode the wave of promotion. There was even a conduct agreement between them inside the fighting bowl: Mikey was barred from using leg submissions in the bout, a specialty that guided the American’s path to the top of UFC BJJ.
The favorite in the fight, Mikey did not get the finish over the three rounds, though he hunted for submissions nonstop. With no choice but to defend, Bryce went overboard with the trash talk and tried to rattle Mikey, who stayed composed and kept attacking until the end of regulation. The bantamweight champion added another win at UFC BJJ and floated the possibility of giving up the title to pursue new challenges. According to Mikey, he already has everything he wanted in terms of achievements as a Jiu-Jitsu athlete, both gi and no-gi.
NO WINNER: MASON FOWLER REMAINS UFC BJJ CHAMPION, BUT HIS BOUT WITH NICKY ROD ENDS IN A DRAW
The co-main event ended in unusual fashion. Mason Fowler, the light heavyweight champion, faced Nicky Rod, who came in as the challenger. All three rounds were contested, and the judges ruled a split decision draw. The first round was marked by more offense from the champion, who took the fight to the ground by pulling guard. With that strategy, he set a higher pace of pressure. In the second and third rounds, Rodriguez had more success with his volume of offense: he went for chokes, took mount and pursued side control. According to the officials, Fowler still held a narrow edge to retain the title.
Aurelie Le Vern returned to the top at UFC BJJ. At the 11th edition, the French athlete faced Rana Willink in a featherweight bout, a division she has already ruled as world champion. Determined to win, with more initiative and a much stronger game, the champion brought aggression to the action, attacked for the submission and earned the unanimous decision win declared by the officials. The victory is another step in the former champion’s journey toward a new title shot.
DOMINANCE: JAY ROD IMPRESSED WITH SHARP JIU-JITSU THAT EARNED A CHOKE SUBMISSION
Jay Rodriguez, Nicky’s brother, returned to elite competition at this edition of UFC BJJ. He delivered the only submission among the night’s five biggest fights. Jay faced Kevin Beuhring, showed he knew exactly what he wanted to do and never ran into trouble. The win he envisioned came in the second round, when he passed the guard and advanced to mount. That is how Jay locked in the inverted D’Arce choke and forced his opponent to tap.
In the first fight featuring Brazilians on the UFC BJJ 11 card, Pedro Machado came out on top. Facing Lucas Norat, Machado unleashed a wide arsenal of submission attacks, with extremely tight armbars, but ran into Norat’s impressive resilience (and flexibility). At the end of the three rounds, Pedro Machado was declared the winner by unanimous decision. It is the second win in the UFC BJJ fighting bowl for the athlete, who has already fought for the organization’s light heavyweight title.
FULL UFC BJJ 11 RESULTS:
- Main Event: Flyweight
Mikey Musumeci def. Bryce Mitchell by unanimous decision
- Co-Main Event: Light Heavyweight (Title)
Mason Fowler retained his belt against Nick Rodriguez via split decision draw
- Featherweight
Aurelie Le Vern def. Rana Willink by unanimous decision
- Catchweight
Jay Rodriguez def. Kevin Beuhring by submission (R2, 2:54)
- Lightweight
Pedro Machado def. Lucas Norat by unanimous decision
- Bantamweight
Jordan Holy def. Ryan Elgarico Jr. by unanimous decision
- Flyweight
Mason Stritzel def. Seve Zazueta by submission (R2, 4:06)
- Featherweight
Daniel Deeder def. Kolby Gonzalez by submission (R3, 2:20)
This article was originally published in Portuguese: read the original version.
