UFC BJJ 9 produced a lot of action and ended up with a whopping eight submission finishes in nine matches. The biggest story coming out of the night is UFC BJJ champ Mason Fowler and CJI champ Nick Rodriguez quickly winning their respective matches by rear naked chokes, then both calling for a title rematch.
After coming off a draw on his last bout, Nicky Rod dropped down to light heavyweight and just ran through his opponent in Joao Nicolite. The CJI millionaire rushed into a takedown from the opening bell, and worked on his trademark body lock passing before ending up with a rear naked choke.
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“Pretty solid 205 lb debut. I want that belt. I want a title shot,” Rodriguez said.
Rodriguez predicted that Fowler would win his main event match up, as he asked to be next in line for the belt. The UFC BJJ light heavyweight champion did just that soon after.
After an early feeling out period in the headliner, Fowler got a beautiful arm drag to an immediate back take against Devhonte Johnson. Much like his former rival, Fowler made it look easy and quickly finished with a rear naked choke. He then called for the same match up.
“I was planning on fighting ‘Hulk’ (Lucas Barbosa) next. He’s a match that I’ve called for many times, but out of nowhere Nicky Rod also dropped to 205,” Fowler said after his win.
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“I think that’s also a really interesting match to do, especially since he has a win over me. It was a really close match,” he said about a possible rematch with Nicky Rod. “I think 205 is going to be a better weight class more me. That match was at heavyweight… I felt I was a little fat when I competed against him. I wasn’t super lean and I felt that played against me.”
The pair previously faced off before the promotion’s rebrand, at UFC Fight Pass Invitational 7. Rodriguez won by points in 2024, then went on to have his iconic million dollar run in CJI a few months later. Fowler has since won four straight matches, all with the UFC, where he is now the UFC BJJ light heavyweight champion.
Gilbert Burns wins grappling return, Ffion Davies and Bella Mir get armbar wins at UFC BJJ 9
In the UFC BJJ 9 co-main event, longtime UFC star Gilbert Burns made a successful return to his grappling roots after recently retiring from MMA. In a full circle moment, he also had the face of UFC BJJ in his corner in Mikey Musumeci, who Burns actually promoted to black belt all the way back in 2015.
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Burns got on top and submitted Horlando Monteiro with a rear naked choke in a little over a minute. After the win, he called out several potential opponents for his next match. Burns said he either wants a UFC BJJ title bout, or fun matches with fellow MMA stars like Dustin Poirier, Demian Maia, or Nate Diaz.
After dropping a close title bout against Cassia Moura last March, former ADCC champion Ffion Davies returned to the win column at UFC BJJ 9, and got her first submission finish in the promotion. The BJJ star defended an early reverse triangle attempt from Amanda Bruse, then used it to pass and completely take over the match. Davies got Bruse’s back, then eventually transitioned to a match ending armbar in the final seconds of the first round.
Also in the card, second generation grappling star Bella Mir submitted Nichelle Johnson to go 3-0 in UFC BJJ. After dominating the first two rounds, Mir locked in a kimura in the third round, and transitioned to finish with an armbar.
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The 22-year-old daughter of former UFC champion Frank Mir has been active juggling various combat sports simultaneously. She is 4-0 in MMA, 3-0 in UFC BJJ, and recently won the US Open in wrestling and will have an upcoming qualifier for Team USA this month.
Mir isn’t the only second generation BJJ star on the card. Earlier in UFC BJJ 9, Vagner Rocha’s 19-year-old son, Achilles Rocha made it look easy against Filipe Pimentel. The recent ADCC Trials Champ came out aggressive early, and quickly finished the match with a first round heel hook.
Check here for complete results and more highlights from UFC BJJ 9.
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