Augusto 'Tanquinho' Mendes, BJJ world champion and 5-0 MMA fighter, will make his UFC debut next week as a last-minute replacement for an injured fighter. 

Mendes, 2013 IBJJF World champion and two-time IBJJF No-Gi World champion, will step into the famed Octagon as a replacement for injured Jimy Hettes. He fights Charles Rosa, a Massachusetts fighter with a 10-2 record in MMA. 

Tanquinho holds the featherweight (145lb) belt in Legacy FC, a Houston, Texas based promotion. He won all five of his fights by stoppage, with four coming by way of submission. He trains MMA in Arizona alongside former UFC lightweight champion Benson Henderson. 

They will fight at UFC Fight Night 81, which goes down at the TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts on Sunday January 17, 2016. The event will be headlined by a bantamweight title fight featuring TJ Dillashaw and Dominic Cruz. 


Tanquinho has been developing his MMA career while staying active in grappling competitions, with recent appearances at the IBJJF No-Gi World Championships and Berkut in November of 2015. 

Born in Rio de Janeiro, Mendes is a founding member of the Soul Fighters BJJ team, which counts ADCC runner-up Joao Gabriel Rocha as a member. 

Mendes has a laundry list of credentials and BJJ titles, including World Champion, UAEJJF World Pro Champion, US Champion, South American Champion and many more.