The eighth edition of UFC BJJ, held this Thursday, the 21st, extended the reigns of two of the organization’s champions: Cassia Moura and Mikey Musumeci. Both were booked in the main attractions for title defenses. In the co-main event, Cassia Moura stayed on top of the women’s bantamweight division with a win over fellow Brazilian Sabrina Gondim, who replaced Bianca Basílio, originally booked as the challenger.
The champion was caught off guard by a takedown from Sabrina early in the first round, but the Bruno Bastos black belt did not lose her composure and took the lead back. In the second round, Cassia pushed Sabrina to the edge of the bowl, took the back with a quick spin and submitted the challenger with a rear-naked choke. It was Cassia Moura’s first submission win in UFC BJJ. In her interview in the bowl, the Rio de Janeiro native said she wants the main event in her next fight in the league and that she is also targeting the belt in the division below.
DEALING WITH HEALTH PROBLEMS, MIKEY MUSUMECI DOMINATED KEVIN DANTZLER AND USED HIS SPECIALTY TO WIN FAST
It didn’t work out for Kevin Dantzler in his UFC BJJ debut, a brutal challenge that put him in a title fight against Mikey Musumeci. The charismatic champion entered the bowl for the biggest fight of the night as a heavy favorite. Mikey is a leg hunter, and that game, though widely studied by opponents, remains his deadliest weapon. The win came in the first round, in the opening minutes, after a precise heel hook attack.
Despite the flawless performance, Mikey was not at his best. In his post-fight interview, he said he was treating an infection and had a fever the day before the fight. When he left the Meta Apex, the event venue, Musumeci’s first stop was the hospital. It was the black belt’s third successful title defense in UFC BJJ.
WILLIAM TACKETT AND ETHAN CRELINSTEN SPOIL BRAZILIANS’ PLANS AT UFC BJJ 8
William Tackett won his matchup against Brazil’s Manuel Ribamar at UFC BJJ 8. As talented as his brother Andrew Tackett, the league’s welterweight champion, William wants to keep building a strong path in the organization with an eye on a title shot. In Thursday’s middleweight fight, Tackett showed superiority over Ribamar, who was coming off a win at the event, and won with a heel hook.
Ethan Crelinsten delivered a gala performance on his UFC BJJ debut night. The competitor’s mission was to get past Brazil’s Danilo Moreira, a black belt who has already fought for a title in UFC grappling. Ethan was in a hurry to settle the fight, and his volume, offensive from the very first second, was key. When he landed on Danilo’s back, still in the first round, Crelinsten seized the opportunity and finished with a rear-naked choke.
Jett Thompson, who was originally set to face Andy Varela, instead met another 10th Planet athlete, Derek Rayfield, in a welterweight bout on the UFC BJJ 8 card in Vegas. The evenly matched fight, which started with intense movement from both athletes, kept building until Thompson’s strategy took over. Before that, he did well to escape his opponent’s dangerous attacks and then reacted decisively in the third round, when he got the quick win with an Aoki lock.
CALLOUT: AFTER A UNANIMOUS DECISION WIN, KEITH KRIKORIAN SAYS HE WANTS TO FACE FELIPE MACHADO BOWL
Keith Krikorian beat Landon Elmore, a young Kingsway talent, in another all-American matchup on the card of the event’s eighth edition. Keith, who added another win in the organization, is aiming for bigger opportunities in the UFC’s grappling league. In his post-fight interview, Keith, the unanimous winner, said he wants to face Felipe Machado. The American recalled the Brazilian’s match with Mikey Musumeci at the UFC Fight Pass Invitational and said that, if they meet, he will submit him. Keith wants to keep climbing in the Ultimate to fight for a world title.
Canadian Liam Crelinsten put on an excellent performance in his debut, in the second fight of the night. The brother of Ethan, also in action on the card, got ahead of American Max Livingston with a quick turn on top and passed the guard in successive attempts, dominating without taking any risk. The submission, a choke, came in the second round.
The opening bout between Azamat Bakytov and Thomas David, marked by a slow pace, penalty warnings for lack of activity and conservative movement, ended without a winner, in a majority draw.
This article was originally published in Portuguese: read the original version.
