Several Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ) stars and world champions were active this week, with WNO 25 and UFC Fight Pass Invitational 9 happening on back-to-back days. Below we’ll break down the biggest winners and biggest critique from each event.
Biggest winners from UFC Fight Pass Invitational 9
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Mikey Musumeci – He didn’t get finish at UFC FPI 9, but even before his match, Musumeci was already a winner. He went from ONE to UFC and signed a landmark contract he calls the “best deal I have ever had in my life.” For his debut, the BJJ star was put in a showcase match with the lesser known Felipe Machado. He didn’t get a submission, but it was a pretty one-sided match with Musumeci spending the entire match hunting for leg locks. Musumeci also nearly got his back and got on top for two points to win the match. To his credit, Machado was able to defend the leg attacks well, but he didn’t mount any offense due to Mikey’s sticky game.
Renato Canuto – In the UFC FPI 9 co-main event, Canuto outpointed decorated wrestling champion Jason Nolf in an entertaining back and forth match up. Nolf’s wrestling made for a fun match with a lot of scrambles, but Canuto proved to be the better grappler overall. He also got a nice triangle attempt that Nolf decided to escape by walking out of the mat. Despite repeated warnings from the referee, stepping out cost Nolf four points, which ultimately decided the match. It was Nolf’s second high profile pro grappling match, and he still has holes in his game. Canuto was clearly the superior grappler, and to his credit, he also defended a couple of takedowns nicely.
Biggest winners from WNO 25
In the WNO side of things, the biggest winners were the three ADCC champions that continued their dominant runs.
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Felipe Pena – Three grapplers got slick finishes in the card, but Pena is the biggest winner from WNO 25 after landing one while arguably getting the toughest match up among them. Pena faced top notch competition in Declan Moody, who had some good moments early on. Much like his ADCC run though, the savvy vet in Pena overcame some adversity and went on to submit Moody with an arm-in guillotine. The reigning ADCC champion at +99 kg called for a WNO title fight next, noting that he’s open to facing guys like Nick Rodriguez as he believes that Gordon Ryan has no plans of coming back.
Kaynan Duarte – In the WNO 25 main event, Duarte was absolutely dominant. The ADCC double gold medalist showcased his trademark headquarters passing and just completely shut down Roberto Jimenez’s guard game. Jimenez is known for his scrambles and back takes, but Duarte’s smothering top game just negated any offense as he continued his impressive year that saw him get double gold at ADCC 2024. Much like Pena, Duarte mentioned Gordon Ryan after the match, and said that it’s unlikely he’ll ever accept a match up with him.
Adele Fornarino – Fornarino was arguably the biggest winner from ADCC 2024, winning double gold even as the smallest competitor in the absolute division. Sophia Cassella was a late replacement opponent at WNO, but Fornarino did her job and got a footlock finish too continue that impressive run of submissions.
Biggest issue from WNO and UFC FPI 9
Both cards produced some nice exchanges and a couple of slick submissions, but they weren’t without fault. The biggest issue in both events were clearly the matchmaking.
We had big BJJ stars compete in back to back nights, with Mikey Musumeci in UFC FPI 9 and ADCC champions listed above in WNO 25. It was hard not to feel like they were in mostly showcase matches though — Musumeci especially — and these bouts were fairly predictable. WNO’s main event wasn’t as egregious, as Roberto Jimenez is talented and always entertaining, but Duarte was clearly a rough match up that not many really thought he could win. With Felipe Pena also on the same card, we could’ve gotten an infinitely better match up by just putting him against Duarte instead.
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