Meet The Champions | UFC BJJ

“Darth Rigatoni” dominated their title tussle in the main event as he applied constant pressure throughout the match before eventually finishing the job in the third round via heel hook.

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Musumeci followed up with a first-round heel-hook victory over Keven Carrasco as he registered the first defense of his crown. And he’ll look to further cement his status as the king at 135 pounds when he puts his title on the line against Scottish grappler Shay Montague in the main event of UFC BJJ 5 on February 12.

Women’s featherweight champion: Aurelie Le Vern

The first UFC BJJ women’s champion was also the first European champion, as French Guiana’s Aurelie Le Vern submitted Las Vegas fan-favorite Raquel Canuto inside the opening round at UFC BJJ 4 to capture the 145-pound crown.

Le Vern had already impressed in her first UFC BJJ appearance at UFC BJJ 2, where she submitted Maggie Grindatti Lira with an Americana in just 79 seconds. That victory earned Le Vern a shot at the vacant featherweight belt, and a meeting with Canuto, who had previously gone 4-1 under the UFC Fight Pass Invitational banner, and had claimed a first-round submission of her own on the same UFC BJJ 2 card. 

It set the stage for a fascinating clash between the pair at UFC BJJ 4 and despite Canuto having the benefit of a partisan hometown crowd lending their support, it was Le Vern who prevailed, with the 2023 IBJJF bronze medalist capturing the title via first-round Kimura.

Lightweight champion: Carlos Henrique

The first grappler to hold the distinction of winning a UFC BJJ title, Carlos Henrique captured the inaugural lightweight title in the first title match in UFC BJJ history.

Henrique worked his way through the UFC BJJ: Road To The Title, submitting Gianni Grippo via second-round anaconda choke, then following up with another second-round finish as he submitted Isaac Doederlein via armbar.

Those victories earned him a shot at the inaugural lightweight title, and his third-round armbar finish of Danilo Moreira at UFC BJJ saw him crowned champion last June.

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Since then, “CH7” has successfully retained his title with a unanimous decision victory over Matheus Gabriel at UFC BJJ 3, and he’ll look to add another defense to his resumé when he returns to the Bowl later this year.

Welterweight champion: Andrew Tackett

At the age of 22, Andrew Tackett has the grappling world at his feet, and in the space of less than a year, the Austin, Texas native has become one of the biggest stars in UFC BJJ.

Tackett was a standout talent in UFC BJJ: Road To The Title’s welterweight bracket, with back-to-back first-round rear-naked choke finishes of Aaron Wilson and Jason Nolf propelling him into the tournament final, where he met Andy Varela for the inaugural UFC BJJ welterweight title.

The IBJJF No-Gi world champion defeated William Tackett over three rounds to capture the belt in a match that saw him largely dominate the action. But that was the 29-year-old’s first time in the UFC BJJ bowl, and we won’t have to wait long for his next appearance.

Ronaldo will feature in the co-main event of UFC BJJ 5 on February 12, where he’ll put his middleweight title on the line against Norway’s IBJJF No-Gi world champion Tarik Hopstock.

Light heavyweight champion: Mason Fowler

Veteran submission competitor Mason Fowler added UFC BJJ champion to his list of grappling accolades when he made his promotional debut at UFC BJJ 2.