By Philipp — Rollbook · Updated August 8, 2026
UFC BJJ 2026: Schedule, Results & Champions — The Complete Event Guide
Every UFC BJJ event in 2026 with dates, results, and current champions — plus how the format works, how to watch free, and what's next: UFC BJJ 10 (Aug 20) and UFC BJJ 11 (Sep 24). Updated after every card.
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UFC BJJ in 2026: The Rolling Guide
UFC BJJ has gone from a reality-show experiment to the busiest professional grappling promotion in the world in barely a year — roughly monthly cards, free broadcasts, and a championship ladder across seven divisions. This page is the rolling guide: every 2026 event with its headline result, the current champions, the format, and the next cards — updated after each event.
For how UFC BJJ fits into the wider 2026 landscape — the CJI 3 cancellation-and-revival saga it helped trigger, and the FloGrappling streaming consolidation it competes against — see our companion pieces. For the no-gi season's other pole, ADCC runs September 12-13 in Krakow: full ADCC 2026 schedule here.
What Is UFC BJJ?
UFC BJJ is the UFC's submission grappling promotion, founded in 2025 under UFC president Dana White (with Cláudia Gadelha leading jiu-jitsu strategy) and owned by TKO Group Holdings. It launched with UFC BJJ: Road to the Title — an eight-episode competition series released June 2025 on UFC Fight Pass and YouTube, coached by Mikey Musumeci and Rerisson Gabriel — which fed the finalists into UFC BJJ 1 (June 25, 2025), where Musumeci, Carlos Henrique, and Andrew Tackett became the first bantamweight, lightweight, and welterweight champions.
Every numbered event so far has run at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas (billed as the Meta Apex since early 2026), streaming free on the UFC BJJ YouTube channel — a deliberate audience-building play while most of the no-gi world sits behind subscriptions.
The Format: Rounds, Judges, and "The Bowl"
UFC BJJ is not points jiu-jitsu, and it is not pure submission-only either:
- Three rounds of five minutes, no-gi.
- Submission first: if no finish, judges score on the 10-point must system, weighing (1) initiation of bout-ending techniques, (2) initiation of action, (3) duration of control — in that order.
- "The Bowl": a bowl-shaped play area whose curved walls push athletes back into engagement, the grappling equivalent of the Octagon's fence.
It sits between the ADCC ruleset (submission-hunting rewarded, points late) and something entirely new. For how rulesets shape styles, see our ADCC vs IBJJF comparison.
Current Champions (August 2026)
Men
| Division | Champion | Champion Since | Title Defenses |
|---|---|---|---|
| Light Heavyweight (≤205 lbs) | Mason Fowler | UFC BJJ 2 (Jul 31, 2025) | 2 |
| Middleweight (≤185 lbs) | Ronaldo Júnior | UFC BJJ 4 (Dec 11, 2025) | 1 |
| Welterweight (≤170 lbs) | Andrew Tackett | UFC BJJ 1 (Jun 25, 2025) | 3 |
| Lightweight (≤155 lbs) | Vacant | — | — |
| Bantamweight | Mikey Musumeci | UFC BJJ 1 (Jun 25, 2025) | 3 |
Lightweight note: Lucas Valente won the belt at UFC BJJ 7 (April 2) with a last-round leg lock over Carlos Henrique, but the title is vacant heading into UFC BJJ 10, where Renato Canuto and Ethan Crelinsten meet for it (Tapology).
Women
| Division | Champion | Champion Since | Title Defenses |
|---|---|---|---|
| Featherweight | Rebeca Lima | UFC BJJ 7 (Apr 2, 2026) | 0 — first defense at UFC BJJ 10 |
| Bantamweight | Cassia Moura | UFC BJJ 6 (Mar 12, 2026) | 1 |
A women's flyweight grand prix was announced for UFC BJJ 10, pointing toward a third women's division.
2026 Schedule and Results
All events at the Meta Apex, Las Vegas, free on YouTube.
| Event | Date | Headline Results |
|---|---|---|
| UFC BJJ 5 | Feb 12, 2026 | Musumeci def. Montague (bantamweight title defense); Ronaldo Júnior def. Tarik Hopstock (middleweight defense) |
| UFC BJJ 6 | Mar 12, 2026 | Fowler def. Pedro Machado (light heavyweight defense); Cassia Moura wins the women's bantamweight title |
| UFC BJJ 7 | Apr 2, 2026 | Tackett def. Rocha (welterweight defense); Lucas Valente submits Carlos Henrique for the lightweight title; Rebeca Lima wins the women's featherweight title |
| UFC BJJ 8 | May 21, 2026 | Musumeci def. Dantzler by heel hook (bantamweight defense); Moura def. Gondim (women's bantamweight defense); UFC BJJ Opens announced — full recap |
| UFC BJJ 9 | Jun 4, 2026 | Fowler def. Devhonte Johnson by rear-naked choke (light heavyweight defense); Gilbert Burns wins his grappling return by submission; Bella Mir submits Nichelle Johnson — UFC results page |
| UFC BJJ 10 | Aug 20, 2026 | Upcoming — card below |
| UFC BJJ 11 | Sep 24, 2026 | Upcoming — card below |
The 2025 Season (Events 1-4)
| Event | Date | Headline Results |
|---|---|---|
| UFC BJJ 1 | Jun 25, 2025 | Inaugural champions crowned: Musumeci (bantamweight), Carlos Henrique (lightweight), Tackett (welterweight) |
| UFC BJJ 2 | Jul 31, 2025 | Tackett def. Canuto (first welterweight defense); Mason Fowler def. David Garmo for the light heavyweight title |
| UFC BJJ 3 | Oct 2, 2025 | Musumeci def. Carrasco (bantamweight defense) |
| UFC BJJ 4 | Dec 11, 2025 | Ronaldo Júnior def. William Tackett for the middleweight title; Tackett def. Dorsey (welterweight defense) |
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Up Next
UFC BJJ 10 — Thursday, August 20, 2026
The biggest card the promotion has run, per the official fight card:
- Andrew Tackett vs. Jonnatas Gracie — welterweight title
- Rebeca Lima vs. Brianna Ste-Marie — women's featherweight title; Ste-Marie's promotional debut
- Renato Canuto vs. Ethan Crelinsten — vacant lightweight title
- Plus the announced women's flyweight grand prix
UFC BJJ 11 — Thursday, September 24, 2026
Twelve days after ADCC Krakow, per Tapology and BJJEE:
- Mason Fowler vs. Nicky Rodriguez — light heavyweight title; Nicky Rod's UFC BJJ debut
- Mikey Musumeci vs. Bryce Mitchell — crossover bout against the UFC featherweight
Why UFC BJJ Is Reshaping Pro Grappling
Four structural moves explain why one promotion changed the 2026 landscape:
- Free broadcasts in a paywalled sport. While FloGrappling consolidated Polaris, WNO, IBJJF majors, and ADCC coverage under one subscription, UFC BJJ streams free on YouTube.
- Monthly cadence on exclusive contracts. A contracted roster and a numbered event every 4-6 weeks produces the only weekly news cycle in grappling. Craig Jones cited exactly this model — amateur-funded, contracted, scaled — when he cancelled CJI 3 in May.
- The talent flow has started. The starkest case: 2024 ADCC double champion Adele Fornarino withdrew from ADCC 2026 and pointed to UFC BJJ as the promotion giving women equal billing.
- The Opens feeder. The UFC BJJ Opens — open-entry qualifiers announced in May — aim a pipeline from local mats to the pro card, competing directly with ADCC Trials and IBJJF Opens for regional registrations.
Common Questions
How do I watch UFC BJJ events?
Live and free on the UFC BJJ YouTube channel; replays and the full schedule are on the official UFC BJJ hub.
Is UFC BJJ submission-only?
No. Submissions are the priority, but bouts that go the distance are scored on the 10-point must system, judged by bout-ending initiations first, action second, control third.
How often are UFC BJJ events?
Roughly every 4-6 weeks, all at the Meta Apex in Las Vegas so far.
Can regular competitors get in?
That is the point of the UFC BJJ Opens — open-entry feeder tournaments announced in May 2026 as the pathway toward a contracted roster spot.
What are the weight classes?
Five men's divisions (bantamweight, lightweight ≤155, welterweight ≤170, middleweight ≤185, light heavyweight ≤205) and two women's divisions (bantamweight, featherweight), with a women's flyweight grand prix landing at UFC BJJ 10.
Key Takeaway
UFC BJJ enters late 2026 with seven champions' ladders, a vacant lightweight title about to be filled, and its two biggest cards yet booked around ADCC week: Tackett vs. Gracie on August 20 and Fowler vs. Nicky Rodriguez on September 24. Free broadcasts, monthly cadence, and an Opens feeder are the model everyone else in pro grappling is now reacting to — bookmark this page; it's updated after every card.
Official Sources
- UFC BJJ official hub — schedule, rules, broadcasts
- Wikipedia — UFC BJJ — event list, championship history, ruleset
- UFC — UFC BJJ 9 results
- UFC — UFC BJJ 10 fight card
- Tapology — UFC BJJ 11
- Jits Magazine — women's flyweight GP announcement
- MMA Mania — Fornarino to UFC BJJ
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