![\"LAS](\"https:\/\/platform.mmamania.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/110\/2025\/10\/gettyimages-2227956700.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0,0,100,100\")
<\/a><\/p>\nLAS VEGAS, NEVADA – JULY 31: William Tackett reacts after a submission victory against Kyle Chambers in a middleweight match during the UFC BJJ 2 event at UFC APEX on July 31, 2025 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Chris Unger\/Zuffa LLC) Photo by Chris Unger\/Zuffa LLC<\/p>\n
William Tackett defends exclusive UFC BJJ contracts with misleading info<\/p>\n
UFC BJJ and its exclusive contracts have been a hot topic ever since the multibillion dollar organization decided to expand to jiu-jitsu and try to use a similar business model<\/a> they have in MMA. Those very contracts helped them dominate and keep a stranglehold on the sport, but it also led to multiple class action lawsuits<\/a> from fighters, with the first one seeing UFC settle the case for hundreds of millions<\/a>.<\/p>\n Grappling star Craig Jones called those UFC BJJ contracts \u201cexploitative,\u201d<\/a> but one UFC BJJ star is defending the promotion he is currently signed to. William Tackett, the older brother of UFC BJJ welterweight champ Andrew Tackett, argued for the UFC.<\/p>\n \u201cIf you fight for Who\u2019s Number One (WNO) three months before your UFC BJJ match, and you snap your tibia and fibia in a Pato lock, are you going to fight for UFC BJJ now? Definitely not in three months, probably not for another year. So guess what, the UFC\u2019s investment that they\u2019ve poured into the marketing \u2014 which is expensive, bro,\u201d Tackett argued.<\/p>\n \u201cFor you to buy like a 15 second commercial on UFC 307 or something, it\u2019s going to cost you hundreds of thousands of dollars. So they\u2019re dumping that marketing into us, which is a lot of money that they could be making from other sponsors, like Monster Energy and Prime\u2026 they\u2019re dumping that into us. They\u2019re not going to let that go to waste by fighting on another show.\u201d<\/p>\n Tackett went on to list the benefits from having the UFC Performance Institute as a defense to these contracts, saying athletes get also free dieticians and physical therapy among other things.<\/p>\n UFC PI benefits are nice and all, but Tackett\u2019s main argument is fundamentally flawed. The UFC makes a large amount of money from sponsorships, but they are in no way declining blue chip sponsors and sacrificing \u201chundreds of thousands of dollars\u201d to promote UFC BJJ events. After selling everything they can, UFC simply uses extra airtime during their own events to promote other cards and other ventures for free.<\/p>\n It\u2019s unclear if this is a regular UFC talking point, or something Tackett came up with himself, but it\u2019s just flat out false. UFC regularly promotes their own events, ventures and agendas on broadcasts \u2014 from UFC cards, to Power Slap, and even politicians and random right wing figures. Equating this to the amount they charge sponsors for TV spots, is at best, a misunderstanding of how things work. At worst, it\u2019s a misleading and dishonest way to justify controversial business practices.<\/p>\n William Tackett will get a middleweight title shot at UFC BJJ 4 this December<\/a>.<\/p>\n LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – DECEMBER 10: Felipe Pena prepares to face Nicholas Meregali during the UFC Fight Pass Invitational at UFC APEX on December 10, 2023 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Chris Unger\/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images) Chris Unger \/ Zuffa LLC via Getty Images<\/p>\n Felipe Pena vs. Luke Griffith battles for Gordon Ryan\u2019s vacated belt at WNO 31<\/p>\n With the \u201cvery sick\u201d Gordon Ryan pretty much retired, WNO is moving on<\/a> and putting his now vacant heavyweight belt on the line. As announced during the WNO 30 broadcast<\/a>, a rematch between Felipe Pena and Luke Griffith has been rebooked for WNO 31 in December 5, 2025.<\/p>\n The bout has been originally booked for WNO 28<\/a> in June, until it got scrapped due to injury. It\u2019ll finally happen in December, although the pair already did rematch in the months in between. As part of the team tournament, Pena submitted Griffith with an armbar at CJI 2<\/a>.<\/p>\n Pena will likely be the favorite again, as he is now 2-0 against Griffith, with both wins by submission. Their first match was an exciting back-and-forth affair in 2024 that saw Pena winning his second ADCC world title<\/a>.<\/p>\n LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – JULY 31: Renato Canuto prepares to face Andrew Tackett in the UFC BJJ welterweight title match during the UFC BJJ 2 event at UFC APEX on July 31, 2025 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Chris Unger\/Zuffa LLC) Photo by Chris Unger\/Zuffa LLC<\/p>\n UFC BJJ star Renato Canuto wins MMA bout via soccer kicks<\/p>\n IBJJF world champ and UFC BJJ title contender Renato Canuto has won his second MMA fight, and interestingly enough it didn\u2019t come via submission. The grappler instead finished the fight with some brutal soccer kicks to the body.<\/p>\n Watch the finish below as Canuto dominated at Tuff-N-Uff 149.<\/p>\n Polaris Squads final set for stacked Polaris 34 card<\/p>\n Polaris has been hosting entertaining team tournaments<\/a> this past year, and \u201cPolaris Squads\u201d will be having their grand finale on November 1, 2025. The finals will have Team Europe facing off against Team Asia & Oceania, and featuring a pretty stacked line up of BJJ stars.<\/p>\n Team Europe will have deep roster with Jozef Chen, Mateusz Szczecinski, Owen Jones, Eoghan O\u2019Flanagan, Taylor Pearman and Santeri Lilius.<\/p>\n Team Asia & Oceania, won\u2019t have one of their top competitors in Kenta Iwamoto anymore, but will field a line up that has Lucas Kanard, Igor Tanabe, Oliver Taza, Tommy Yip, Herjraat Rashid, and Mohammed Avtarhanov.<\/p>\n Outside of the team tournament finals, the stacked Polaris 34 card will also have two of the top pound-for-pound women in the sport. ADCC champ Ffion Davies will have her final bout with Polaris <\/a>in a 61kg title bout <\/a>against Margot Ciccarelli, while CJI and WNO champ Helena Crevar will try to get a win back<\/a> against Sula-Mae Loewenthal for the 66 kg title.<\/p>\n LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – DECEMBER 15: John Danaher looks on during the UFC Fight Pass Invitational 3 at UFC APEX on December 15, 2022 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Chris Unger\/Zuffa LLC) Photo by Chris Unger\/Zuffa LLC<\/p>\n John Danaher reunites with B-Team<\/p>\n While the original Danaher Death Squad had a pretty bitter split and continued rivalry for years, things are seemingly in a better place now \u2014 at least outside of the never ending<\/a> Gordon Ryan and Craig Jones feud<\/a>.<\/p>\n John Danaher taught a seminar at Simple Man Martial Arts \u2014 formerly B-Team<\/a> \u2014 as part of a fundraiser for a local grappler that fell into a coma due to a brain tumor. It\u2019s there that Danaher reunited with longtime former students like Nick Rodriguez, Nicky Ryan and Ethan Crelisten for a good cause.<\/p>\n \u201cI was thinking \u2018dude it\u2019s going to be kind of awkward teaching,\u2019\u201d Danaher said after the seminar<\/a>. \u201cThen within literally three seconds, all of us had regressed to like the blue basement (gym) in 2018, and we\u2019re laughing and having fun and talking like old times.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat screws things up is separation,\u201d he continued. \u201cOnce people get back together \u2014 it\u2019s like going back home to Thanksgiving, within five minutes you\u2019re all back in your childhood roles. Same thing in this regard. It was fun.\u201d<\/p>\n ABU DHABI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES – OCTOBER 25: Mackenzie Dern reacts after a victory against Virna Jandiroba of Brazil in the UFC strawweight championship fight during the UFC 321 event at Etihad Arena on October 25, 2025 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. (Photo by Chris Unger\/Zuffa LLC)<\/p>\n To close things out, here are other interesting BJJ stories you might have missed:<\/p>\n First WNO Open Weight Grand Prix champ!<\/a> – Declan Moody recently won ADCC Trials (again) then followed up with a big win at WNO 30.PRIDE rivalries reignited!<\/a> – A brutal kimura had Team Nogueira winning the Quintet 5 tournament over Team Sakuraba.IBJJF, ADCC and now UFC world champ!<\/a> – Mackenzie Dern won big at UFC 321 and has now won major titles across different sports and rulesets.<\/p>\n The BJJ Beat is also now on Instagram<\/a>, so please give that a follow if you enjoy jiu-jitsu content!<\/p>\n For the latest Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ) and grappling-related news click here<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n