When you are a three-time world jiu-jitsu champion and an Abu-Dhabi world champion, you have checked off more than what most can dream of in the grappling and Brazilian jiu-jitsu communities. That is just what UFC fighter Rani Yahya has under resume and returned to BJJ competition at the Brazilian National Jiu-Jitsu No-Gi Championships in Rio over the weekend.
Yahya proved that his time focused on MMA and away from BJJ competition was still at a very high level, making his way to the finals in the lightweight division. However, when Yahya faced Thiago “Baiano” Abreu in the final, Abreu proved his superiority in this grappling exchange taking less than a minute to put Yahya to sleep with a tight guillotine choke.
Rani Yahya holds a 24-9 professional MMA record and last fought Enrique Briones at UFC Fight Night 114 in August winning by kimura submission in the second round.
This article first appeared on BJPenn.com on 10/5/2017.