Karen Antunes disputes 38-second armbar loss at UFC BJJ 13
The CheckMat world champion says she slapped Jasmine Rocha rather than tapped, but the referee stood by his call
Karen Antunes left UFC BJJ 13 unhappy with the referee. On Thursday night in Las Vegas, the Brazilian CheckMat black belt lost to Jasmine Rocha by armbar in 38 seconds at flyweight, and protested the stoppage right away. According to Antunes, her hand movement was a slap on her opponent, not a tap.
What happened
Rocha went straight to Antunes’s back and, within seconds, isolated the arm and extended the armbar. When Antunes moved her hand, referee Chris Brennan ruled it a tap and stopped the match. Antunes protested immediately, but Brennan stood by his call. According to the official UFC recap, the replay backed up the stoppage.
It was the shortest match of a night that also saw William Tackett’s 86-second choke in the main event and Jalen Fonacier’s title win over Kleber Barboza, as VF Comunica reported in the UFC BJJ 13 results.
A world champion against the ADCC champion
Born in Brasília, Antunes won the IBJJF World Championship at featherweight in 2018 and the No-Gi World Championship at black belt in 2015. She has trained her whole career under Mayko Araújo, who is also her husband, and the two now run an academy in Minnesota.
Across from her was the reigning ADCC champion at 55 kilograms. In September, in Kraków, Rocha beat Ana Rodrigues in the final to win her first ADCC gold. The daughter of Brazilian black belt Vagner Rocha, who has also competed in UFC BJJ, she had lost to Rodrigues by split decision at UFC BJJ 6 in March.
Rocha wants a new division
After the win, Rocha said she wants to lead the launch of a strawweight division in UFC BJJ and become its first champion. The promotion has not announced the division or a match for her.
Did you see it? Was it a slap or a tap? Tell us in the comments.
Read also
- UFC BJJ 13: Fonacier beats Kleber Barboza for the title
- UFC BJJ ends draws in title matches with overtime
