Andrew Tackett cemented himself as one of the biggest stars of UFC BJJ with a successful defense of his welterweight title in the main event of UFC BJJ 4 and called for a big-name next: UFC lightweight Michael Chandler.
Tackett won the belt in June and defended it for the first time a month later — both via submission — and re-entered the bowl at the UFC APEX Thursday night in Las Vegas to beat Eljiah Dorsey with ease in the first round.
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The 22-year-old shot for a double leg right off the bat and Dorsey responded with a guillotine attempt and then an ankle lock from 50-50 position. Dorsey insisted attacking the leg but saw Tackett respond with the same move, forcing him to tap to a heel hook in the opening round.
Tackett was surprised by UFC legend Royce Gracie putting the UFC BJJ belt around his waste after the official result was announced, and called for a match with a UFC star in 2026.
“Michael Chandler, if you want it, let’s go,” Tackett said. “I’ll see you at the top!”
Andrew Tackett’s brother William Tackett tried to clinch UFC BJJ gold in the co-main event but was no match for Ronaldo Junior. The Brazilian middleweight attacked Tackett with a nasty guillotine early but Tackett escaped to reach top position, retaining position for most of the round with a solid body lock.
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Junior’s coach Andre Galvao instructed him in between rounds to not let Tackett get the body lock anymore, and the match was completely different from that point on. Junior again opened things up with a guillotine as Tackett shot for a single leg takedown but couldn’t quite get it. Junior escaped a kneebar attempt and passed guard to immediately reach full mount and threaten with a mounted triangle before the round came to an end.
Junior had full mount seconds into the final stanza and already worked on an arm-triangle choke that had Tackett battle through. Junior still found time to go for another d’arce late, but there was no quit in Tackett. Time ran out, but Junior walked away with a one-sided decision that included two 30-24 scores from the judges.
The inaugural women’s featherweight title was on the line for the first time in the third-to-last match of the night and Aurelie Le Vern scored an incredible submission over Raquel Canuto to take the belt to France.
Le Vern’s first attack was an inverted triangle choke that was deep, but then combined it to a kimura to make it even more miserable for the Hawaiian. Canuto tried her best to survive, but eventually had to concede and verbally tap.
The Canuto family left home with one victory though as Raquel’s husband Renato Canuto dominated Alan Sanchez across three rounds to win a decision less than two months after a violent knockout victory in MMA.
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In the early portion of the show, former UFC heavyweight champion Frank Mir stood in the corner of his daughter Bella Mir as former Navy SEAL and jiu-jitsu black belt Jocko Willink waited on the opposite side of the mat to coach his daughter Rana Willink.
Mir, 22 years of age and already 4-0 in pro MMA with three submissions, attacked with a d’arce choke just seconds into the match. Willink responded with a guillotine attempt and then had to defend an arm-triangle choke, and threatened with an armbar and a leg lock in round two. Mir showed great defense for all her leg attacks and had positional control for most of the contest. When time ran out in round three, Mir was declared the winner via majority decision.
UFC veteran Jussier Formiga came close to tapping Lucas Pinheiro in the second round of their bantamweight showdown in the UFC BJJ 4 opener but won his debut match via decision.
