The first UFC BJJ of the season featured two title fights and the long-awaited return of Nicholas Meregali, sidelined by injury since the 2024 ADCC World Championship. The fifth edition of the UFC’s Jiu-Jitsu league, held this Thursday, the 12th, in Las Vegas, was headlined by the second title defense of Mikey Musumeci, the best fighter at bantamweight. Shay Montague, the reigning IBJJF No Gi world champion, was chosen to threaten ‘Darth Rigatoni’s’ reign in the promotion. The Scottish athlete, extremely flexible working from bottom, gave the American some trouble early on, and it took Mikey a round to find his rhythm. At the first opening on a leg, Mikey went to his specialty and beat Shay with a foot lock in the second round.
The co-main event, which also had a belt on the line, was a Brazil vs. Norway showdown. Ronaldo Junior, the reigning middleweight champion, had to protect his title against the skills of Tarik Hopstock, another athlete on the UFC BJJ 5 card with a recent No Gi world title. In a close match, Ronaldo kept the belt by neutralizing Tarik’s attacks, as the Norwegian leaned more on his guard game. Tarik showed an offensive posture at times, but not enough to take the champion’s spot from Ronaldo. The Brazilian secured another stint at the top of the middleweight division with a decision win.
AGAINST A NO GI WORLD CHAMPION, NICHOLAS MEREGALI USED A FLAWLESS STRATEGY OF CONTROL
Nicholas Meregali is officially back, and on the right track to regain his best form as a competitor. Nico Maglicic, another IBJJF No Gi Worlds gold medalist, was the athlete tasked with stopping Meregali’s momentum in his return. Recovered from injuries after 17 months, Nicholas showed quick reactions, a high level of control and aggressiveness. Especially in the second and third rounds, Nico went into survival mode, facing a blitz from bottom in the mount and arm-triangle attacks. The Brazilian won by unanimous decision.
One of the night’s submission bonuses went to Andy Murasaki, who displayed refined technique on the UFC’s global stage. On the receiving end was his namesake Andy Varela, an opponent Murasaki had called out after his previous win in the promotion. After a start in which Varela took more initiative, against a more patient, studied approach from the Japanese-Brazilian, Murasaki found an opening to extend the American’s arm and end the match with an armbar in the first round.
REBECA LIMA, ONE OF THE BRAZILIANS IN ACTION AT UFC BJJ, MADE AN EXCELLENT FIRST IMPRESSION WITH A SUBMISSION WIN IN HER DEBUT
A silver medalist at the most recent No Gi Worlds, Rebeca Lima made a memorable UFC BJJ debut. The athlete, who trains with black belt Bruno Bastos in Texas, faced American Taylor Hishaw. Rebeca was the one pushing the attacks in the first round, setting up the submission that would come soon after. The Brazilian’s quick win, a great way to impress on debut night, came by ankle lock.
Jonnatas Gracie was more effective than Yan ‘Pica-Pau’ in the only all-Brazilian matchup on the UFC BJJ 5 card. With important wins at the UFC’s grappling events back in the Fight Pass Invitational days, Jonnatas got to the dominant positions more often, with a higher volume of attacks, and the judges declared him the winner unanimously.
After getting a title shot against Mikey Musumeci at the event’s first edition, when the bantamweight title was still vacant, Rerisson Gabriel returned to the UFC BJJ bowl and performed to win. The Rio de Janeiro black belt faced Landom Elmore, a young talent from John Danaher’s school, and imposed a fast-paced strategy to stay ahead on the scorecards. Action just the way the UFC BJJ rules demand. As a result, Rerisson won by unanimous decision after three rounds.
Carol Brunacio, a Rio de Janeiro native, did her homework to take the win in her first grappling match in UFC gear. The Pan No Gi champion, now very focused on her development as a grappler, used a smart strategy, aware of how much attacks are worth under the event’s rules, to get the better of Mona Bailey in the second match of the night. The win came by unanimous decision.
A LETHAL ATTACK IN SECONDS: JALEN FONACIER KEEPS IMPRESSING WITH HIS PERFORMANCES AT THE EVENT
Once again, Jalen Fonacier displayed unbelievable efficiency in the bowl. The Rubens ‘Cobrinha’ black belt, fresh off winning the gi Europeans in Lisbon, notched his third submission win at UFC BJJ. Across from him was Bebeto Oliveira, another Jiu-Jitsu world champion, but Jalen was as slippery as ever and wrapped up his night in Las Vegas in just 19 seconds with a heel hook. With the feat, he stayed unbeaten and put a record in the books: so far, Fonacier owns the fastest submission in UFC BJJ history.
This article was originally published in Portuguese: read the original version.
