Tackett Publicly Rejects Murasaki as 'Boring' — Picks 43-Year-Old TRT Veteran Instead

Andrew Tackett says he learned something at the UFC Performance Institute.

"MMA guys, I'll be talking like: 'Hey, how do you think you're going to do?' and they're like: 'Brother, I will win at all costs.'"

Good quote. Real energy. He took that mentality into the biggest welterweight title defense in UFC BJJ history. And when the promotion proposed Andy Murasaki as his opponent, Tackett said no.

"I turned him down because his last match was just so boring and he has such a good guard."

He continued: "I don't want to compete against someone that's like okay with barely losing or barely winning."

Quick note on Murasaki's last UFC BJJ match: he armbarred Andy Varela in the first round. Which is, by most definitions, not barely winning.

Murasaki is 27. Two-time IBJJF Pan champion. Left Atos during this year's exodus and has been competing independently. He has an actual UFC BJJ record with a first-round submission. He earned the shot.

Tackett picked Vagner Rocha instead.

Rocha is 43 years old. He was hospitalized in January 2025 with heart failure. Doctors told him it appeared he'd already had a heart attack. His resting heart rate was running 120 to 130 beats per minute. He's openly on testosterone replacement therapy — "I have no shame to say I am on TRT replacement for my body in accordance to a doctor." The match reportedly came together because Rocha happened to be in attendance at a previous UFC BJJ event.

His UFC BJJ record entering the title fight: 0-0.

The promotion that announced an anti-doping policy three months ago booked this man for the welterweight championship. The champion who quotes MMA fighters about winning at all costs specifically requested him over the credentialed contender.

Here's the part Tackett didn't import from MMA culture: in the UFC, champions don't pick their opponents. A champion who tells Dana White "I don't want to fight that guy, he's boring" gets told to sign the bout agreement or vacate the belt. The matchmaker decides. The fighter fights.

Tackett absorbed the mentality. He didn't absorb the accountability.

And then the fight happened. Tackett won. By decision. Over three full rounds. Against a 43-year-old. It was described as "hard fought" and "competitive throughout." Rocha mounted his best position late in round two. Tackett needed a third-round back take to seal it.

Not exactly "win at all costs." More like barely winning — the exact scenario Tackett described as unacceptable when the opponent was Murasaki.

Nobody's questioning the talent. The kid is 22, undefeated, three title defenses, and relaxed enough to crack jokes with Rocha mid-exchange. That's real. But when a grappling champion starts rejecting credentialed contenders as boring and hand-picking 43-year-olds on TRT with zero promotional record, he's not importing MMA mentality.

He's importing the one privilege MMA champions never had.

Sources

• Andrew Tackett Rejects Match With Andy Murasaki: 'I Don't Want A Boring Fight'
• Vagner Rocha To Challenge Andrew Tackett For UFC BJJ Welterweight Title
• Vagner Rocha Confirms Andrew Tackett Match Only Came Together Because He Was in Attendance
• Why Did UFC BJJ Book 43-Year-Old Vagner Rocha With a Failing Heart and a TRT Prescription for a Title Match?
• Andrew Tackett decisions Vagner Rocha, two champs lose their belts at UFC BJJ 7
• UFC BJJ 7: Tackett vs Rocha Results

This post was generated by AI. Sources are linked above. Follow @bjj-problems on YouTube for the weekly video digest.