Three-time NCAA champion Jason Nolf is now set to face Renato Canuto at UFC Fight Pass Invitational 9 on December 5th, 2024. The match between the two men will serve as the co-main event of the evening, as Mikey Musumeci will make his promotional debut against Felipe Machado in the main event. It’s an interesting matchup from a stylistic point of view and both men are known for fast-paced grappling styles, so this should produce plenty of action. It’s also the latest step in Nolf’s transition from wrestling to Jiu-Jitsu, as he’s fully retired rom his original combat sports career and appears to embracing this new one.
This will be Nolf’s third professional Jiu-Jitsu match and he’s really been diving in to the deep end so far. He made his debut earlier this year and was very impressive in his first superfight, submitting Andrew Simmons with an arm-triangle choke after some solid grappling from top position. That match earned him an invite to the inaugural Craig Jones Invitational and he originally looked like he might be a contender in the under 80kg division but he ended up being drawn against one of the top seeds, Tye Ruotolo. It was one of the toughest draws of the entire bracket, even for an elite wrestler like Nolf.
Nolf ended up getting submitted in the second round of the match with Ruotolo and his career record moved to 1-1, but he gave a great account of himself against one of the best BJJ competitors in the world. Renato Canuto also went out in the opening round of the Craig Jones Invitational, but he has significantly more Jiu-Jitsu experience than Nolf does. Canuto was a top brown belt prospect before receiving his black belt in 2017 and he’s since gone on to win the IBJJF World Championship in both gi and no gi, making him a very tough opponent for Nolf.
UFC Fight Pass announced the news that Jason Nolf was going to face Renato Canuto in the co-main event of UFC Fight Pass Invitational 9 in a recent post to their official Instagram account:
