The results of UFC BJJ 13, held this Thursday, the 29th, at the Meta Apex in Las Vegas, crowned two new champions in the UFC’s grappling league. In the main event, William Tackett needed just 86 seconds to submit Jay Rodriguez, known as Jay Rod, with a rear-naked choke and win the middleweight belt, vacant since Ronaldo Junior’s departure. With the title, he joins his brother Andrew Tackett, the welterweight champion, and the two become the first brothers to hold belts at the same time in the promotion.
Jay Rod came out at full speed and, in the opening seconds, hit a double-leg takedown that carried them across the bowl. Tackett, however, got back to his feet before his opponent could settle on top, went on the attack and, in the blink of an eye, took his back. With the rear-naked choke locked in, all he had to do was squeeze until the tap, at 1:26 of the first round. It was William’s second shot at the middleweight title, after a unanimous decision loss to Ronaldo Junior in the bout that crowned the division’s first champion.
After the win, the new champion used the microphone to send a message to his fellow competitors. Tackett called for more courage inside the bowl, criticized stalled matches, with athletes who just sit on the mat or hang on their opponent’s neck, and urged everyone to take advantage of the platform the UFC provides. “Take risks, go for the submission or die trying,” he said. His promise is to defend the belt with the same aggression that brought him back to title contention, after two straight heel hook wins, as The Mat Nation reported on the eve of the event.
JALEN FONACIER KEEPS ATTACKING THE LEGS, BEATS KLEBER BARBOSA AND INHERITS THE BELT ONCE HELD BY MIKEY MUSUMECI
In the co-main event, Jalen Fonacier won the bantamweight belt with a unanimous decision over Brazil’s Kleber Barbosa. The title had been vacant since Mikey Musumeci gave it up to focus on MMA, a decision that took ‘Darth Rigatoni’, one of the biggest names in the history of the UFC’s grappling league, out of the bowl. The match also had a taste of revenge: Kleber had already beaten Jalen in a gi match, and ‘The Future’ got the chance to even the score in no-gi.
Fonacier pulled guard right away and went straight for a leg. Kleber escaped and threatened with a foot lock of his own, but his opponent took the back, locked a body triangle and spent the rest of the first round hunting the rear-naked choke, without success. In the second round, Jalen cranked a foot lock at a frightening angle, but the Brazilian refused to tap and even finished on top. In the third, Kleber dictated the positions while Fonacier kept hunting heels, and it was that persistence that swayed all three judges’ scorecards.
NICKY ROD BOUNCES BACK WITH A SUBMISSION OVER NATÃ TENCA AND ALREADY WANTS THE REMATCH WITH MASON FOWLER
At light heavyweight, Nick Rodriguez, known as Nicky Rod, returned to the win column just over a month after his title fight with Mason Fowler ended in a draw. Brazil’s Natã Tenca, a 2026 IBJJF world champion making his league debut, withstood the pressure for two full rounds, even with the American reaching mount in the second. In the third, after Tenca lost a point for passivity, Nicky Rod got back to mount, locked an arm-triangle choke and forced the tap at 3:07. In his interview, he made it clear he is waiting for Fowler’s return.
Wales’ Ffion Davies is also firmly on her way back to a title shot. Against debutant Jaine Fragoso, she pulled her opponent into guard, swept, passed to side control and reached mount, from where she locked the arm-triangle choke at 2:07 of the first round. It was her second straight first-round submission. After the match, Davies repeated that her goal is to fight for the bantamweight belt again and, perhaps, get a rematch with Cassia Moura, who beat her for the division’s inaugural title.
The fastest win of the night belonged to Jasmine Rocha. The ADCC champion needed just 38 seconds to submit Brazil’s Karen Antunes at flyweight: she took her opponent’s back and transitioned to an armbar. Antunes tapped, but quickly protested the stoppage, claiming the touch was not a submission. Referee Chris Brennan stood by the call, which was confirmed by the replay. In her debut, Jasmine asked to become the first champion of a future strawweight division in the league.
LIAM CRELINSTEN FINISHES WITH A HEEL HOOK, AND JOÃO NICOLITE EARNS HIS FIRST WIN IN THE BOWL
At heavyweight, former college wrestler Pat Downey beat Ian Daube, a two-time IBJJF no-gi world champion, by unanimous decision. The first round ended without takedowns, with both men canceling each other out on the feet. Downey took the match to the ground midway through the second and, in the third, scored another takedown, took the back and spent the remaining time pressuring from top. The submission never came, but his aggression in the last two rounds secured the result on the scorecards.
At welterweight, Canada’s Liam Crelinsten submitted Kazakhstan’s Seilkhan Bolatbek, a 2026 IBJJF world champion, with a heel hook at 1:26 of the second round. After neutralizing his opponent’s early attacks from bottom, he reversed position in the first round and, after the restart, isolated Bolatbek’s left leg, rolled belly down and forced the tap. Now 2-0 in the league, Crelinsten said he wants one more fight in the division before challenging Andrew Tackett for the belt.
Brazil’s João Nicolite also left with his hand raised. After losing to Nicky Rod in his light heavyweight debut, the Davi Ramos black belt dropped to middleweight and beat Mexico’s Martin Gonzalez by unanimous decision. Gonzalez started explosively, took the back and nearly landed an armbar and a flying triangle, but Nicolite stayed calm, applied top pressure in the second round and controlled the third, when he also attempted a foot lock. It was his first win in UFC BJJ.
The UFC BJJ 13 opener ended with a submission by a debutant who is just 19 years old. Tristan Sainz pressured David Weintraub from the start, took the match to the ground and threatened a D’Arce. After another takedown against the wall of the bowl, he took the back and squeezed the rear-naked choke at 4:53 of the first round. Fired up, the youngster asked former UFC fighter Claudia Gadelha for a contract and promised to win the lightweight belt one day.
FULL UFC BJJ 13 RESULTS:
MIDDLEWEIGHT TITLE: William Tackett def. Jay Rodriguez by rear-naked choke at 1:26 of round 1
BANTAMWEIGHT TITLE: Jalen Fonacier def. Kleber Barbosa by unanimous decision
Light heavyweight: Nick Rodriguez def. Natã Tenca by arm-triangle choke at 3:07 of round 3
Women’s bantamweight: Ffion Davies def. Jaine Fragoso by arm-triangle choke at 2:07 of round 1
Women’s flyweight: Jasmine Rocha def. Karen Antunes by armbar at 0:38 of round 1
Heavyweight: Pat Downey def. Ian Daube by unanimous decision
Welterweight: Liam Crelinsten def. Seilkhan Bolatbek by heel hook at 1:26 of round 2
Middleweight: João Nicolite def. Martin Gonzalez by unanimous decision
Lightweight: Tristan Sainz def. David Weintraub by rear-naked choke at 4:53 of round 1
The night’s official results are published on the UFC website.
This article was originally published in Portuguese: read the original version.
