The Craig Jones Invitational’s (CJI) biggest star has signed on with UFC BJJ.
Nick Rodriguez, who won in both of the $1 million tournaments at the first two CJI events, will be competing at UFC BJJ 6. As announced by the promotion, “Nicky Rod” will face two-time IBJJF no gi world champion Elder Cruz on March 12, 2026.
The pair originally faced off at WNO 11, with Cruz winning by decision. That was back in January 2022 though, when “The Black Belt Slayer” in Rodriguez was still a purple belt and Cruz at brown belt. Both grapplers have made drastic improvements since, with Cruz and Rodriguez going on to win their biggest titles in the years after.
Rodriguez has competed in nine UFC Fight Pass Invitational (UFC FPI) matches in the last three years, but it will be his first time competing at UFC BJJ since its 2025 rebrand.
UFC BJJ recently announced they’ll strictly enforce exclusive deals, which has been a main talking point as Nicky Rod’s longtime teammate and CJI promoter Craig Jones has beefed with the promotion over their “exploitative contracts.” This year will have both ADCC 2026 and CJI 3, so it’ll be curious to see what kind of deal Rodriguez has signed, and if he has clauses to compete in either of those big events moving forward.
UFC BJJ also signs jiu-jitsu legend Joao Miyao
Another new UFC BJJ signing involves jiu-jitsu legend Joao Miyao, with the five-time IBJJF world champ set to compete on the card against longtime UFC veteran Jussier Formiga. Miyao and Formiga both won gold at separate “Masters” age divisions at the 2026 IBJJF Euros.
In recent UFC BJJ events, Miyao was called out by both teammates Mikey Musumeci and Jalen Fonacier.
UFC BJJ 6 will have two title bouts on the card, including an intriguing championship bout between top pound-for-pound talents in Ffion Davies vs. Cassia Moura.
UFC BJJ 6 fight card
This is how the rest of the UFC BJJ 6 line up is shaping up so far:
- Mason Fowler vs. Pedro Machado [light heavyweight title]
- Ffion Davies vs. Cassia Moura [bantamweight title]
- Nick Rodriguez vs. Elder Cruz
- Joao Miyao vs. Jussier Formiga
- Devhonte Johnson vs. Lucas Norat
- Ana Rodrigues vs. Jasmine Rocha
- Meyram Maquine vs. Marcos Mendes
- Manuel Ribamar vs. Caio Vinicius
