A busy weekend with lots of notable action including gi, no-gi and MMA. Get the lowdown in the weekend recap. 

UFC 231 Gives Highs & Lows for Jiu-Jitsu Fans

MMA can be hit or miss for grappling fans. Sometimes we get treated to jump-off-your-chair submissions, sometimes all you see is stalling and smothering. UFC 231 in Canada featured three solid jiu-jitsu reps on the card, but with mixed results. 

Gunnar Nelson wins via submission

The ADCC veteran and Renzo Gracie black belt bounced back to winning ways with a win over Alex Oliveira via second round rear naked choke. The Icelandic black belt competed at ADCCs in 2009 in Barcelona (with notable matches against the likes of Jeff Monson and Xande Ribeiro) and in 2011 in the United Kingdom, competing against big names such as Andre Galvao and Bruno Frazatto. 

He roars again!

Welcome back, @GunniNelson! #UFC231 pic.twitter.com/APn2XMPQWt

— UFC (@ufc) December 9, 2018

Gilbert “Durinho” Burns wins at UFC

Grappling stalwart Burns (pictured top) returned to the UFC and got to show both his jiu-jitsu and his striking skills against Canadian Olivier Aubin-Mercier. Burns dropped his opponent twice and took him down at will for a unanimous decision. 

?? 49 to ?? 21 significant strikes.

We head to round three! #UFC231 pic.twitter.com/yiZc7aZB6y

— UFC (@ufc) December 9, 2018

Gracie Jiu-Jitsu’s Brian Ortega gets beat up

Here's an incredible stat: Brian Ortega absorbed more strikes than anyone ever has in the UFC in a single contest. The fight got stopped by the doctors at the end of the fourth round, and while Ortega has made a name for himself by winning with some flash submissions we didn't get to see his trademark Gracie jiu-jitsu in action. 

Rookie Black Belt Mayssa Bastos wins EBI 18

The female strawweights were out for EBI 18 and it was the surging Mayssa Bastos who won, taking home $10,000 in the process. 

Bastos, who only got her black belt in June of 2018, ran through the 16-woman division beating two huge names along the way; three-time black belt World champion Rikako Yuasa in the semifinal, and three-time World No-Gi champion Pati Fontes in the final. 

Polaris 8: Jones decisions Keenan, Nicky Ryan chokes Imanari

The main event of Polaris 8 featured Craig Jones vs Keenan Cornelius. The submission-only match went to a decision with the Aussie getting the nod. The match featured much more of Craig's stand-up grappling and guard passing than we're used to seeing, and he earned a split decision. 

Nicky Ryan is only 17 years old but once again proved he's a talent like few others with a submission win over fearsome Japanese leg lock legend Masakazu Imanari. Ryan took the back and finished with a rear naked choke. 

Notable results: 

Craig Jones def Keenan Cornelius via split decision

Vagner Rocha def Ben Henderson via rear naked choke

Mansher Khera def Lachlan Giles via unanimous decision

Daniel Strauss def Satoshi Ishii via split decision

Nicky Ryan def Masakazu Imanari via rear naked choke

Onnit Invitational 

Some interesting match-ups took place at the 10th Onnit Invitational over the weekend. Here's a quick rundown: 

• Quentin Rosenzweig won the 205lb tournament, beating both Kyle Boehm and Roberto Jimenez by heel hook along the way. 

• Two Austin-based grapplers in Jacob Harris and Andrew Tackett faced off in the 135lb tournament, with Harris winning in OT. 

• DDS and 10th Planet went to war once again: Frank Rosenthal got a win in OT vs Marvin Castelle. Both are signed up for the same division at No-Gi Worlds next week. 

• Elliot Marshall got a 36-second submission over Jeremy May

• Lis Clay won her super fight against Maddy Fernandez via heel hook 

First ever IBJJF tournament in Ireland

The Dublin International Open attracted European talent such as Espen Mathiesen and FFion Davies, but the biggest news out of the event was that ECJJA took the team trophy both gi and no-gi with over double the points of second place. 

Darragh O'Conaill's independent team always bring a deep squad. There were dozens of them at the 2018 European Championships, but with an event on their doorstep they really came out hard.

Watch upcoming events on FloGrappling 

Dec 14-16: IBJJF 2018 World No-Gi Championships 

Dec 15-16: 2018 IJF Judo Guangzhou Masters  

Watch the 2018 IBJJF No-Gi World Championships on FloGrappling