Andrew Tackett and Brianna Ste-Marie won the biggest fights of the night at UFC BJJ 10, held on August 20 at the Meta Apex in Las Vegas. With the welterweight title on the line once again, in his fourth defense, the American faced challenger Jonnatas Gracie and took the initiative to settle things quickly.
Once again, Andrew Tackett put on an off-the-charts technical display inside the UFC BJJ fighting bowl. The favorite to keep his reign at welterweight, the champion lived up to expectations with clear control from the opening seconds. The win came by rear-naked choke in the first round. Since becoming UFC BJJ champion, the American has beaten Renato Canuto, Elijah Dorsey and Vagner Rocha. The only one to go the distance was veteran Vagner, who lost to Andrew by decision.
Canadian Brianna Ste-Marie spoiled the plans of Brazil’s Rebeca Lima, the featherweight champion until then. As the challenger, Brianna came out more aggressive from the start, but had to rebalance the fight after a reaction from Rebeca, who closed the first round with a good volume of attacks. When the second round began, the challenger was quicker to take the lead, applied top pressure and found her way to the kata gatame, forcing the champion to tap. With the result, Brianna, a two-time no-gi Jiu-Jitsu world champion, became the UFC BJJ featherweight belt holder.
CASSIA MOURA AND ADELE FORNARINO STAND OUT WITH LIGHTNING PERFORMANCES IN THE GP; BOTH WIN BY SUBMISSION IN THE FIRST ROUND
Cassia Moura lived up to her favorite status in vintage style against Bre Stikk at UFC BJJ 10. With speed and surgical precision, Cassia attacked nonstop and got the win in the first round. With an inescapable armbar, the black belt advanced in the flyweight GP and booked her spot in the final against Adele Fornarino, an explosive matchup for the inaugural title. If she wins, Cassia, already the bantamweight champion, will make UFC BJJ history by holding two belts at the same time.
Adele Fornarino kept bringing pure aggression to the UFC BJJ fighting bowl. In action at the event’s tenth edition, in the first fight of the flyweight GP, Adele faced Brazil’s Carol Brunacio. Throwing relentless submission attacks from the start of the first round, she got the win before the end of the round, when Carol tapped to a leg lock. It is the Australian’s second quick win in UFC BJJ.
William Tackett, Andrew’s brother, added another submission win on the UFC BJJ 10 card. Against Russia’s Fedor Nikolov, William showed dangerous takedown skills, putting his opponent down twice in the first five minutes. Early in the second round, Nikolov went bold with a flying triangle attempt, but Tackett was alert to avoid the danger and still find a good chance to take control. With the fight back on the mat, the American moved to mount, slid to the legs and finished with a heel hook.
JALEN FONACIER KEEPS IMPRESSING WITH HIS UFC BJJ UNBEATEN RUN; THIS TIME HE WON BY UNANIMOUS DECISION
Mourece Ramirez was not the one to end Jalen Fonacier’s winning streak in UFC BJJ. At the tenth edition, the athlete once again stepped in unbeaten in the Ultimate’s grappling league and walked out with another win on his record. Mourece was resilient, handled Jalen’s always dangerous speed well and managed to hold on through all three rounds. On the scorecards, the Rubens ‘Cobrinha’ student was declared the unanimous winner. It was the first time Jalen won by decision in UFC BJJ. His three previous wins all came by leg lock.
Vagner Rocha keeps impressing and showing his class at the highest level of the sport. On the card of UFC BJJ’s tenth edition, the seasoned competitor faced Andy Varela. Bouncing back after surviving a choke attempt in the third round, Vagner returned the favor and submitted the American with a choke. In the opening fight of UFC BJJ 10, American Danielle Kelly beat Brazil’s Ana Lima by unanimous decision.
This article was originally published in Portuguese: read the original version.
