Two Vacant Crowns on the Line as UFC BJJ 13 Takes Over Las Vegas Tonight
UFC BJJ 13 headlines Thursday night at the Meta Apex with two vacant titles up for grabs, after champions in both divisions stepped away from their belts in the build-up to the event.
The UFC's grappling arm stages one of its deepest cards of the year on Thursday night, with UFC BJJ 13 set for the Meta Apex in Las Vegas and streaming live on UFC Fight Pass from 8 p.m. ET. Two championships will find new owners after both reigning titleholders vacated their belts ahead of the event. The main event sees Jay Rodriguez meet William Tackett for the vacant middleweight crown. Tackett gets a second chance at the belt after the division opened up when Ronaldo Junior relinquished the title, while Rodriguez earned his shot with a second-round inverted D'Arce submission win in September. The co-main event contests the vacant bantamweight title, with Jalen Fonacier — training partner of the division's first and only champion — facing Kleber Barboza. That belt came free when Mikey Musumeci chose to give it up in order to focus on mixed martial arts training and less formal grappling matches. The card runs well beyond its two title fights. Nick Rodriguez, brother of the middleweight headliner and a champion on the Craig Jones Invitational circuit, meets recent IBJJF Pan champion Nata Tenca, while former ADCC champions Ffion Davies and Jasmine Rocha appear in separate bouts. Champion wrestler Pat Downey also makes his promotional debut on a card stacked with returning stars.