by Article per Sofia Dlugo
UFC BJJ 3 was at the UFC Apex last night in Las Vegas, Nevada. It was an exciting night of grappling in The Bowl, with five out of nine of the matches ending in submissions. The card featured two championship titles for the bantamweight and lightweight divisions. As expected, the co-main event offered a closer match than the main event, ending in a unanimous decision.
The night started entertaining when Jalen Fonacier submitted Pedro Nakano via heel hook in the opening two minutes of their match. Fonacier hunted down the leg attack as soon as he stepped into The Bowl, securing the heel hook as they were in a 50-50 position. This makes it back-to-back heel hook submissions for Fonacier.
Ana Mayordomo submitted Shye Lilly via armbar in the first round at 4:22. Mayordomo was able to showcase her pressure game and was constantly chasing the finish. Lilly did well to defend against Mayordomo’s many submission attempts throughout the first round, but it was a front choke transitioned to north-south position that helped Mayordomo secure a belly-down armbar.
The always entertaining Andy Varela was able to submit Daniel Sathler via rear-naked choke at 4:15 into the second round. Varela took full advantage of when Sathler briefly turned his back to him, jumping on Sathler’s back and locking in on the choke. Sathler made a desperate attempt to free himself from this position by loosening one of Varela’s hands, but Varela quickly switched his hands and locked up the choke once more to force the tap.
Andy Murasaki managed to secure a win by submission against Kris Olivo via kimura at 4:38 of round three. Murasaki looked for leg attacks early in both the first and second rounds, but Olivo did a great job at defending them. Even in the final round, Murasaki pushed the pace. Murasaki was able to establish a dominant position in the mount, then rotated to lock up a kimura that ultimately forced Olivo to tap.
The judges were called in for the first time when Jansen Gomes defeated Gustavo Batista by unanimous decision. Gomes took charge of most of the match, showing that he was the stronger of the two last night. Gomes and Batista have faced off before in the IBJJF Gi World Championship, where Gomes also took the victory. In the final two minutes of the first round, Gomes backed Batista all the way up the wall of The Bowl and landed a huge takedown on the way down, helping to show he was the dominant force early in the match.
The up-and-coming teenage standout Cassia Moura secured a win by unanimous decision against veteran Alex Enriquez. Both women started off the match aggressively, but it was Moura who maintained top control more often. The teenage standout took control of the exchanges throughout the match, even attempting a choke in the second round, and executing some impressive passing.
Samual Nagai was able to secure a unanimous decision victory over Kennedy Maciel. In the first round, Nagai was able to hit a beautiful butterfly sweep that made the crowd gasp. Nagai attempted a handful of different chokes throughout the first and second rounds, but none of them were successful. The crowd appeared to love the match they just witnessed, with lots of action from both men. Nagai was ultimately crowned the winner after an impressive debut in UFC BJJ.
The co-main event ended in a close unanimous decision with all judges scoring it 29-28, declaring that Carlos Henrique retained his UFC BJJ Lightweight Title. To start the match, Henrique ran Gabriel up the wall of The Bowl, then looked to secure a leglock when the action continued. Throughout the second round, Henrique maintained his top pressure on Gabriel, attempting a footlock at the last second. In the third round, Henrique took Gabriel down quickly. Gabriel hunted for a submission, but Henrique smothered him to deny Gabriel the space to work. All the way up until the final bell, Henrique showed that he could push the pace and be aggressive.
Mikey Musumeci consistently delivers excitement in UFC BJJ. Last night, he defended his Bantamweight Title by submitting Keven Carrasco via his own submission, a Mikey Lock, at 3:01 in round one. As the match began, Musumeci looked for a leg entanglement, but Carrasco kept his distance to avoid it. The action took to the ground as Musumeci immediately searched for a footlock on his opponent, who managed to steer clear of conflict for a short period of time. Musumeci did not give up, though, eventually securing his signature Mikey Lock, which is a modified heel hook, to force a tap from Carrasco.
UFC BJJ will return for its fourth showcase on Thursday, December 11. This event will be live on the UFC YouTube channel and will feature a middleweight title match between William Tackett and Rolando Junior. This card will also feature Andrew Tackett as he will try to defend his welterweight title, his opponent is still to be determined at this time.
