Tonight’s UFC Fight Pass event is being taken over by the grappling elite.
Kicking off at 9pm EST in the UFC Apex Center in Las Vegas, The eight-man absolute tournament features recent No Gi Worlds standouts like Oliver Taza and Fight Pass mainstays like Mason Fowler competing for a $25,000 grand prize.
Buffeting the event are two superfights featuring both UFC and BJJ legends. ADCC Champ Gordon Ryan takes on late-replacement and former friend Nicky Rodriguez in the heavyweight main event. Rodriguez, who’s absolute roster spot now belongs to Luke Griffith, replaces Vinny Magalhães due to as of yet unknown medical issues. The announcement was made earlier today in a video on the UFC Fight Pass Instagram page.
“Unfortunately Vinny is out due to some medical issues,” Ryan said in the video. “Hopefully he heals up. The replacement for him will be Nicky Rod versus myself in the headliner. That’s tomorrow night only on UFC Fight Pass at the Fight Pass Invitational.”
The second superfight suffered no such shake-ups, as former UFC champion Miesha Tate takes on BJJ powerhouse Bea Mesquita. The women’s MMA pioneer last fought in July, and hopes to test her submission skills against the 2017 ADCC champion and IBJJF hall of famer.
The event can be watched exclusively on UFC Fight Pass.
Absolute Tournament
Round 1
Patrick Gaudio def. Haisam Rida (Triangle Choke)
Mason Fowler def. Pat Shahgholi (Armbar)
Luke Griffith def. Andy Varela (Overtime RNC)
Oliver Taza def. Richie Martinez (Heel Hook)
Round 2
Mason Fowler def. Patrick Gaudio (Triangle)
Luke Griffith def. Oliver Taza (RNC)
Final
Mason Fowler def. Luke Griffith (Faster OT escape time)
Superfights
Women’s Featherweight
Bea Mesquita def. Miesha Tate (Overtime Armbar)
Men’s Heavyweight
Dan Manasoiu def. Ricardo Evangelista (Ref Stoppage)
Main Event
Gordon Ryan def. Nick Rodriguez (Faster OT escape time)
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