UFC BJJ 13 Crowns New Champ After Musumeci Vacates

UFC BJJ 13 will crown a new bantamweight champion Thursday after Mikey Musumeci vacated the belt he won as the promotion's first titleholder at 135 pounds.

Musumeci stepped away from the division to focus on MMA training and what he called fun jiu-jitsu matches, ending his serious competitive grappling career, according to MMA Mania. His training partner Jalen Fonacier, a two-time world champion, will face Kleber Barboza for the vacant strap in the co-main event at the Meta Apex in Las Vegas.

Rodriguez Brothers and ADCC Veterans Return

The main event features another vacant title bout, with Jay Rodriguez challenging William Tackett in the middleweight division. Tackett previously competed for a UFC BJJ belt and gets his second crack at a title. Jay's brother Nick Rodriguez, who won the Craig Jones Invitational heavyweight championship earlier this year, takes on recent IBJJF Pan-Am champ Nata Tenca in a featured matchup.

ADCC champions Jasmine Rocha and Ffion Davies return to UFC BJJ on separate bouts, while CJI competitor and champion wrestler Pat Downey makes his promotional debut against Ian Daube. The no-gi card streams live on UFC Fight Pass starting at 8 p.m. ET, with a free prelim portion available on YouTube as MMA Mania first reported.

UFC BJJ 13 also includes Liam Crelinsten against Seiilkhan Bolatbek, Martin Gonzalez facing Joao Nicolite Rocha, and Tristan Sainz meeting David Weintraub on the Thursday night lineup.

Reported via:

• MMA Mania — UFC BJJ 13 live stream, results, video highlights | New champ to take Musumeci’s belt