Brianna Ste-Marie Claims UFC BJJ Featherweight Title 2026

A 29-year-old Canadian grappler walked into the Meta APEX in Las Vegas with a 34-10 record and walked out as a champion. Brianna Ste-Marie claims UFC BJJ Featherweight Title in August 2026, submitting Rebeca Lima by arm-triangle choke at 1:57 of round two, and doing it in her very first UFC BJJ title bout. [1][7]

The victory, which took place on August 20, 2026, at UFC BJJ 10: Tackett vs. Gracie, instantly elevated Ste-Marie to the center of the women’s grappling conversation. [1][5] Lima had entered the night as the inaugural UFC BJJ women’s featherweight champion, but her first title defense ended in defeat, closing her reign after a single successful appearance. [5][7]

Key Takeaways

🏆 Brianna Ste-Marie submitted Rebeca Lima by arm-triangle choke at 1:57 of round two to win the UFC BJJ women’s featherweight title on August 20, 2026.

📍 The fight took place at the Meta APEX in Las Vegas as the co-main event of UFC BJJ 10.
🥋 Ste-Marie is a BJJ black belt under Fábio Holanda and Leonardo Saggioro of Brazilian Top Team.
📊 She enters the title reign with 21 submission victories out of 34 career wins, reflecting elite finishing ability.

🌍 The win builds on a résumé that includes a 2022 IBJJF World No-Gi Championship and a 2022 ADCC silver medal.

The Night Ste-Marie Made History at UFC BJJ 10

UFC BJJ 10 was built around championship stakes. Promotional material confirmed that two championship belts would be contested on the night, the welterweight title between Andrew Tackett and Jonnatas Gracie, and the women’s featherweight title between Ste-Marie and Lima. [3][5] That dual-title structure gave the event a premium feel and put Ste-Marie’s performance under a bright spotlight from the opening bell.

Pre-fight betting markets reflected genuine uncertainty about the outcome. Odds for both fighters were listed at approximately 1.85, meaning bookmakers saw the contest as nearly even. [2] That made Ste-Marie’s dominant, second-round submission finish all the more striking. She did not grind out a close decision, she controlled the match and put Lima away with one of her most reliable weapons.

MixedMartialArts.com’s post-event wrap described the win as Ste-Marie “taking the featherweight crown in her debut” and labeled her “the new featherweight queen” and “an immediate centrepiece of the promotion’s women’s divisions.” [7] That framing captures how significant the result was, not just for Ste-Marie personally, but for the UFC BJJ brand as it continues to build its women’s roster.

“An immediate centrepiece of the promotion’s women’s divisions.”, MixedMartialArts.com on Ste-Marie’s UFC BJJ title win [7]

How Brianna Ste-Marie Claims UFC BJJ Featherweight Title Fits Her Elite Résumé

Ste-Marie’s path to the UFC BJJ featherweight belt was not a sudden rise. Born on August 30, 1996, in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, she has been competing at the highest levels of submission grappling for years. [4][10] Her black belt lineage runs through Fábio Holanda and Leonardo Saggioro of Brazilian Top Team, one of the most respected academies in the sport. [4][15]

Career Highlights at a Glance

Year	Achievement
2022	🥇 IBJJF World No-Gi Champion (under-60 kg)
2022	🥈 ADCC Silver Medallist (under-60 kg)
2023	🏅 IBJJF World Championship Medallist
2026	🏆 UFC BJJ Women’s Featherweight Champion

Her competition record of 34 wins and 10 losses across 44 documented matches is a testament to consistent elite-level performance. [13] Of those 34 wins, 21 came by submission, a finishing rate that speaks directly to her ability to convert positional control into taps. [13]

The arm-triangle choke, also known as the katagatame, is a signature weapon in her arsenal. Match archives show her finishing opponents such as Joanna Trindade and Maria Claudia with the same technique, and she once dominated Amanda Bruse by a 25-0 points margin, demonstrating that her game works at every range. [6][11][12][13]

UFC BJJ promotional content had already signaled her elite status before the fight, describing her as “so elite” in pre-event promos. [3][5] That label proved accurate on fight night.

What the UFC BJJ Featherweight Title Win Means for the Sport

The UFC BJJ circuit is still a relatively young promotion, and every major moment shapes its identity. When Brianna Ste-Marie claims UFC BJJ Featherweight Title in August 2026, she does more than add a belt to her collection, she gives the women’s featherweight division a credible, proven champion with name recognition across the global grappling community. [7]

Rebeca Lima’s reign as the inaugural champion had established the belt’s legitimacy. Lima won the title at UFC BJJ 5, and her willingness to defend it at UFC BJJ 10 against a dangerous challenger like Ste-Marie showed that the division was already attracting serious competitors. [5][7] Ste-Marie’s victory now raises the bar even higher.

Why This Win Matters 🎯

Credibility boost: A champion with ADCC and IBJJF World credentials gives the UFC BJJ women’s division immediate prestige.
Submission culture: Ste-Marie’s finishing style aligns with what fans want from submission grappling events, exciting, decisive outcomes.

Canadian representation: As a Montreal native, Ste-Marie brings a new geographic fanbase to the promotion. [4]
Platform growth: UFC BJJ 10’s dual-title card format signals the promotion’s ambition to rival established grappling events.

The growth of submission-only and hybrid grappling promotions has accelerated in the 2020s, with organizations competing for top talent and fan attention. UFC BJJ’s ability to sign a competitor of Ste-Marie’s caliber, and then feature her in a title fight on debut, reflects a strategic approach to building star power quickly.

For fans of women’s grappling specifically, Ste-Marie’s championship reign offers an exciting prospect. Her combination of high-level guard work, positional dominance, and reliable submission finishes makes her a compelling champion to watch. Comparisons to other elite female grapplers in the 60 kg range are inevitable, and her ADCC silver medal performance already places her among the best in the world at her weight. [4][8]

Conclusion

Brianna Ste-Marie’s arm-triangle choke finish of Rebeca Lima at UFC BJJ 10 was not a surprise to anyone who had followed her career closely, but it was still a landmark moment. Brianna Ste-Marie claims UFC BJJ Featherweight Title in August 2026, and she does so as one of the most decorated grapplers in her division, backed by elite coaching, a proven submission game, and the composure of a competitor who has performed on the world’s biggest stages. [1][4][7]

Actionable Next Steps for Fans and Followers

Watch the full UFC BJJ 10 card to see Ste-Marie’s finish in context alongside Tackett’s welterweight title defense.

Follow Ste-Marie’s next title defense, as champion, she will be the target for every top featherweight in the promotion.
Explore her competition history on FloGrappling and IBJJF databases to understand the full depth of her résumé. [8]
Track UFC BJJ’s women’s division as it continues to grow, this championship reign could define the promotion’s female talent pipeline for years to come.

The grappling world now has a new featherweight queen. 👑