With a nine-fight card, matching the edition number, the UFC BJJ event held this Thursday, the 4th, delivered eight submission finishes. One of them came from Mason Fowler, who remains the light heavyweight champion of the Ultimate’s no-gi Jiu-Jitsu league. Coming off a win over Pedro Machado in his first title defense, the Caio Terra black belt asked for and got a fight with Devhonte Johnson. The challenger found no room to progress, was taken down and could not stop Mason’s transition as he slid to the back. The sequence ended with a rear-naked choke in the first round.
Gilbert Burns shone again on a UFC stage. In action in Jiu-Jitsu after announcing his retirement from MMA, ‘Durinho’ faced fellow Brazilian Horlando Monteiro in the co-main event of UFC BJJ 9. The veteran entered the bowl determined to settle things quickly, finishing the fight in 1 minute and 22 seconds. Once he secured back control, ‘Durinho’ ended the middleweight bout with a rear-naked choke. In his post-fight interview, Gilbert called out a series of retired UFC stars, such as Demian Maia and Nate Diaz, to face him in grappling.
One of the rear-naked choke wins on the card belonged to Nicky Rod, the ‘Million Dollar Grappler’. Originally booked to face Roosevelt Sousa, Rodriguez ended up fighting João Nicolite, another Brazilian. Coming off a majority draw with Elder Cruz at UFC BJJ 6, Nicky opened up his game this time to dominate without any risk. After controlling Nicolite on the mat, the American found his way to the choke to impress in his second UFC BJJ appearance.
WELSH ATHLETE RESETS HER COURSE AND WINS BY SUBMISSION AT UFC BJJ 9
Multiple-time champion Ffion Davies returned to the Ultimate’s bowl, but this time in a fight with no belt on the line. She faced Amanda Bruse, who jumped at the opportunity hungry for revenge. The two had met in the 2023 No Gi Worlds final, when the Welsh athlete won 21-0 on points. Even though she was ready to redeem herself after losing the bantamweight title to Cassia Moura, Ffion showed a drop in pace early in the fight and was vulnerable inside Bruse’s triangle. Once she escaped, Ffion sped up her strategy and saw the chance to finish in the first round with a classic armbar.
In another women’s fight on the UFC BJJ 9 card, Bella Mir scored another win in the organization. Against Nichelle Johnson, the daughter of former UFC champion Frank Mir leaned more toward aggression. Her performance ended with an armbar submission in the third round.
ACHILLES ROCHA LANDS A HEEL HOOK AND STAYS CONSISTENT IN GRAPPLING
Brazil’s Filipe Pimentel could not slow down Achilles Rocha, an athlete going through an excellent phase as a grappler. Confirmed for the ADCC World Championship in Poland, the athlete coached by his father, Vagner Rocha, was fast on offense. After taking his opponent down, Achilles quickly went for the heel hook that forced Pimentel to tap.
John Chandler and Raphael Ferreira put on an insane fight in the UFC BJJ 9 bowl. Raphael had the better start and nearly sealed it with a kata gatame in the first round. Resilient, John managed to breathe and escape. From then on, the fight was evenly matched. The turning point came in the third round with Chandler’s comeback. Caught in a triangle, Raphael also showed his conditioning is in good shape. However, in the final second of the fight, Ferreira could no longer hold on and tapped.
The only fight decided by the judges was the matchup between Mourece Ramirez and Victor Delibero. The lack of a submission, however, did not make it the dullest bout of the night. Ramirez, a Marcio André athlete, piled up offensive actions throughout the rounds and earned his hand raised by the officials.
The UFC BJJ 9 opening fight ended with Brazil’s Ana Lima getting a quick win. With an aggressive strategy, Ana focused on the legs and tried a heel hook, but ran into her opponent’s defense. Alert to the options, the Brazilian went for a transition and locked in a technically refined armbar.
This article was originally published in Portuguese: read the original version.
