Grappling phenom Mikey Musumeci recently signed a high-profile contract with Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and vowed to bring order and stability to the world of jiu jitsu, starting with his Felipe Machado match at UFC Fight Pass Invitational 9 last night at APEX in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Musumeci was unable to make a statement in his UFC FPI debut, thanks to the stingy defense of his Brazilian opponent. But no-gi “King,” Gordon Ryan, suggests the Machado bout proved Musumeci was more hype than substance, judging by his recurring (and fairly predictable) mat mistakes.
“PSA: the fact I was able to call little Mike’s f*ck ups like five seconds before they happened just goes to show you that he was never as good as you guys thought,” Ryan wrote in his Instagram stories. “Sucks to suck.”
Ryan was called back to UFC FPI for color commentary alongside TJ Desantis and Brandon Mccaghren. Despite his objectivity during the actual bouts, the Abu Dhabi Combat Club (ADCC) darling is never shy about sharing his opinions after the fact, even mocking performers who underwhelm.
No word yet on when or where Ryan will make his return to the mats. “King” has been battling health problems for most of his career and continues to flirt with retirement. As for Musumeci, his victory over Machado is expected to be the first of many appearances for the UFC FPI series.
For complete results from UFC FPI 9 and post-match analysis click here and here.