UFC BJJ 13: Tackett and Fonacier Crowned as Two Vacant Titles Are Filled

Two vacant titles, two new champions

UFC BJJ 13 answered two championship questions in one night. On Thursday, 29 October 2026, live from the Meta Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada, and airing live on UFC Fight Pass from 8 p.m. ET, William Tackett and Jalen Fonacier won vacant titles. Tackett stopped Jay Rodriguez in the opening round of the main event, while Fonacier earned a unanimous decision over Kleber Barboza in the co-main event. Neither belt was defended, because both were vacant, so the winners became the new standard-bearers of their divisions.

Precision matters here. UFC BJJ 13 was a grappling event, contested under Brazilian jiu-jitsu rules, not a mixed martial arts card. There were no striking exchanges and no UFC MMA title implications. This draft covers the grappling card only. It is distinct from recent UFC MMA stories in this news cycle: the 30 October morning story about Magomedov's UFC 333 interview and callout of Rodrigues, the 29 October evening story about Joselyne Edwards as backup for Harrison versus Nunes at UFC 334, and the 29 October morning story about the O'Malley versus Yan rematch.

Tackett wins the middleweight title in 86 seconds

William Tackett defeated Jay Rodriguez by submission, via rear-naked choke, in Round 1 at 1:26, to win the vacant UFC BJJ middleweight title. At 86 seconds, this was not a slow positional contest that gradually tilted one way. It was a main event decided before either man had much chance to settle, rewarding the grappler who found the back first and finished without hesitation. Once the back is taken and a rear-naked choke is locked in, the defending grappler has very few good options.

For Tackett, the result also carried the weight of a second opportunity. He had previously challenged for a UFC BJJ belt and come up short, so this was a returning challenger showing that the earlier setback had been absorbed. Winning a vacant title in 86 seconds leaves little room for debate about who was the better grappler on the night. Rodriguez entered with a title on the line and left without it, after a finish too quick for any longer tactical story to develop. That is the cruelty of a submission finish at this level: months of preparation can be decided by one scramble, one back take, and one choke. The middleweight division now has a clear champion again, and future challengers must solve the back-taking threat that ended this final so quickly.

Fonacier earns the bantamweight crown on the scorecards

If the main event was about speed, the co-main event was about sustained control. Jalen Fonacier defeated Kleber Barboza by unanimous decision to win the vacant UFC BJJ bantamweight title. There was no finish and no single moment that ended the match. In grappling, a unanimous decision over a full match usually reflects a grappler who was consistently a step ahead, whether through positional advances, submission attempts, or control of the exchanges.

Fonacier's win also has broader significance. Reporting after the event described him as the promotion's first Filipino champion, a milestone that connects the result to a wider audience beyond the bantamweight division. Barboza, meanwhile, leaves Las Vegas as the losing finalist in a title match, and the unanimous nature of the verdict means there is no narrow scorecard to argue about. He will need a run of results, not a rematch argument, to earn another title opportunity. The contrast is what makes UFC BJJ 13 easy to remember: one champion crowned in less than a minute and a half, the other after a full, technical decision.

Rodriguez, Downey and Sainz complete the confirmed results

Below the two title matches, three more results were confirmed in the verified results list. Nick Rodriguez defeated Nata Tenca by submission, via arm-triangle choke, in Round 3 at 3:07. That is the profile of a late finish: a match that went deep, with Rodriguez finding the submission in the final round, a win that suggests both conditioning and composure under fatigue. Pat Downey defeated Ian Daube by unanimous decision, a victory resting on the judges' agreement across the match. Tristan Sainz defeated David Weintraub by submission, via rear-naked choke, in Round 1 at 4:53, a finish late in the opening round that still came before the match could become a longer contest.

Taken together, the five confirmed results give UFC BJJ 13 a clear shape. Two new champions were crowned, a featured grappler finished late, a decision winner added a solid victory, and an opening-round submission showed that finishes can come at any point in a round. No other card results are claimed here beyond those five, because the verified results list provided for this draft is the boundary for what can be reported with confidence.

What UFC BJJ 13 leaves behind

The lasting image of UFC BJJ 13 is a double coronation, achieved in opposite ways. Tackett's middleweight title came with speed and finality. Fonacier's bantamweight title came with patience and unanimous agreement. Both men must now defend, be studied, and prove that one night in Las Vegas was the start of a reign rather than a single peak. By filling both belts on the same card, UFC BJJ gives fans, contenders, and future matchmakers a straightforward starting point for what comes next: who challenges Tackett first, who gets the first shot at Fonacier, and whether Rodriguez, Downey, or Sainz can turn one strong night into a title run. They all begin from the same verified foundation: on 29 October 2026, at the Meta Apex, Tackett submitted Rodriguez in 86 seconds, and Fonacier outpointed Barboza over the full distance, and UFC BJJ had two new champions.