Mikey Musumeci

Gordon Ryan: “The Best Athletes Are on PEDs” in Defense of Steroid Use

Gordon Ryan: "The Best Athletes Are on PEDs" in Defense of Steroid Use Gordon Ryan loves his PEDs. The seven-time ADCC world champion recently snapped back at Mikey Musumeci after ‘Darth Rigatoni’…

Gordon Ryan loves his PEDs.

The seven-time ADCC world champion recently snapped back at Mikey Musumeci after ‘Darth Rigatoni’ placed much of the blame on him for BJJ’s acceptance of the rampant PED use that has plagued the sport for years.

Ryan, who has been an outspoken advocate of performance-enhancing drugs in jiu-jitsu, responded to Musumeci’s comments over the weekend, suggesting that PED use delivers better athletes, better matches, and better paydays — plain and simple.

“I’m pretty indifferent as to PEDs one way or the other,” Ryan told the press at UFC 310. “If a tournament wants to have them, great. If they don’t wanna have them, great. I think, obviously, the matches will be better. I think the athletes will be better athletes. The athletes will definitely be able to get paid more because the better you perform, the better you look” (h/t MMA Mania).

Gordon Ryan continues to advocate for PED use in BJJ

Last month, Musumeci made history by becoming the first submission grappler to sign an exclusive contract with the UFC. Ahead of his debut at UFC Fight Pass Invitational 9 on December 5, Musumeci revealed that his ultimate goal is to help the promotion expand its footprint in the grappling game and to do it exclusively with clean athletes.

Ryan seems to think that approach is a bad idea for everyone.

“The reason people watch professional sports is to see the absolute best athletes in the world do what they do,” he said. “And when you take performance enhancers, it makes you a better athlete. So, I just think that across the board, if people wanna see the best athletes, the best athletes are the people on PEDs.

“So, all you’re doing is making it so the guys on top can still afford to beat the test, and the guys on bottom can’t afford to beat the test. So, then you have natural guys competing against juice guys anyway. Whereas if they’re legal, then everybody can just take as many steroids as they want.”

Aside from a handful of superfights over the summer, Ryan’s appearances on the mat have been few and far between while he continues to battle with stomach issues. Despite the lack of activity, Ryan has remained a prominent figure in the sport, appearing as a commentator for events, such as the most recent UFC FPI card.

Gordon Ryan: "The Best Athletes Are on PEDs" in Defense of Steroid Use 4

Mikey Musumeci Declares War on PEDs in Jiu-Jitsu: “Time for Real Professionalism”

Mikey Musumeci is declaring war on the rampant use of PEDs in BJJ. After establishing himself as one of…

Mikey Musumeci is declaring war on the rampant use of PEDs in BJJ.

After establishing himself as one of the best submission grapplers in the world under the ONE Championship banner, ‘Darth Rigatoni’ ditched the Singapore-based promotion to sign with the UFC. It was a big moment for the jiu-jitsu community as Musumeci became the first grappler to ink an exclusive deal with Dana White and Co.

Now, Musumeci is making it his duty to clean up the sport he loves so dearly.

“I feel like what I’m doing right now is definitely the most important thing for grappling in terms of having a stable platform,” Musumeci said on Wednesday during UFC 310 media day. “I feel like a lot of jiu-jitsu right now is very unstable. There’s a lot of horrible ethics, morals, and I hope now that with the UFC we can change that and make it a professional sport.

“Because it hasn’t been a professional sport, jiu-jitsu, with people they blatantly use [performance enhancing drugs]. They’re not athletes. They really don’t have the values of martial artists. I really just want to change that and give us this platform at UFC and become professionals” (h/t MMA Fighting).

Musumeci refrained from naming names but hopes that he can help the UFC grow the sport of BJJ and bring in other athletes who make it a priority to compete clean and avoid the very long list of practitioners who try to take chemically-induced shortcuts.

“People not on steroids,” Musumeci said emphatically when asked who the UFC should look to sign. “That’s pretty much what I would say but 99 percent of jiu-jitsu is on steroids. So at least them get off steroids a little bit, like a few months. They probably need like a year, six months to adjust and then maybe they could adjust with Darwinism.”

Mikey Musumeci sees signing with the UFC as his first step toward making BJJ great

Aside from trying to extinguish more of the seedy elements in the sport, Musumeci has a lot of personal goals he hopes to accomplish, including a potential transition to mixed martial arts.

Of course, the New Jersey native has a lot left to accomplish in jiu-jitsu, but Musumeci recognizes that signing with the UFC is a big first step towards meeting those goals.

“They want to make this professional also,” Musumeci said. “UFC’s a professional company. The way we’ve been in jiu-jitsu, we’ve been amateurs. We really are just in this barbaric amateur phase of jiu-jitsu. Now UFC is starting something professional. I’m so blessed for them for putting the effort into jiu-jitsu to change it. I’m so eager for them to do that.”

Mikey Musumeci Declares War on PEDs in Jiu-Jitsu: “Time for Real Professionalism”

Mikey Musumeci is declaring war on the rampant use of PEDs in BJJ. After establishing himself as one of…

Mikey Musumeci is declaring war on the rampant use of PEDs in BJJ.

Now, Musumeci is making it his duty to clean up the sport he loves so dearly.

“I feel like what I’m doing right now is definitely the most important thing for grappling in terms of having a stable platform,” Musumeci said on Wednesday during UFC 310 media day. “I feel like a lot of jiu-jitsu right now is very unstable. There’s a lot of horrible ethics, morals, and I hope now that with the UFC we can change that and make it a professional sport.

“Because it hasn’t been a professional sport, jiu-jitsu, with people they blatantly use [performance enhancing drugs]. They’re not athletes. They really don’t have the values of martial artists. I really just want to change that and give us this platform at UFC and become professionals” (h/t MMA Fighting).

“People not on steroids,” Musumeci said emphatically when asked who the UFC should look to sign. “That’s pretty much what I would say but 99 percent of jiu-jitsu is on steroids. So at least them get off steroids a little bit, like a few months. They probably need like a year, six months to adjust and then maybe they could adjust with Darwinism.”

Mikey Musumeci sees signing with the UFC as his first step toward making BJJ great

Aside from trying to extinguish more of the seedy elements in the sport, Musumeci has a lot of personal goals he hopes to accomplish, including a potential transition to mixed martial arts.

Of course, the New Jersey native has a lot left to accomplish in jiu-jitsu, but Musumeci recognizes that signing with the UFC is a big first step towards meeting those goals.

“They want to make this professional also,” Musumeci said. “UFC’s a professional company. The way we’ve been in jiu-jitsu, we’ve been amateurs. We really are just in this barbaric amateur phase of jiu-jitsu. Now UFC is starting something professional. I’m so blessed for them for putting the effort into jiu-jitsu to change it. I’m so eager for them to do that.”

Mikey Musumeci Considers MMA Transition Following Exclusive UFC Deal

Mikey Musumeci is charting a course toward an MMA career, but not before conquering the grappling world under the UFC’s spotlight. The former ONE flyweight grappling champion signed an exclusive deal with the UFC earlier this month, marking the beginning of an exciting new chapter for both him and the promotion. Musumeci is tasked with […]

Mikey Musumeci is charting a course toward an MMA career, but not before conquering the grappling world under the UFC’s spotlight.

The former ONE flyweight grappling champion signed an exclusive deal with the UFC earlier this month, marking the beginning of an exciting new chapter for both him and the promotion.

Musumeci is tasked with making his promotional debut against Felipe Machado on Dec. 5 in Las Vegas at UFC Fight Pass Invitational 9.

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As a highly accomplished grappler, “Darth Rigatoni” has long been thrilled by the idea of blending disciplines in MMA. Now, with his association with the UFC, that ambition seems well within his grasp.

During a recent interview with MMA Fighting, Musumeci shared his enthusiasm about joining the UFC, highlighting how it will allow him to refine the nuances of MMA under the guidance of the sport’s top professionals. He also affirmed that a transition to MMA is inevitable in his future.

“I have the desire to maybe do MMA again in the future,” Musumeci said. “I’m young, my body is very young. I’ve never taken steroids, so my body is like 20, 21, actually. I can have many more years of competition still. Being in the UFC now, I’ll have the opportunity to train with a lot more people that I wouldn’t in the past, and learn from them on the feet, takedowns, wrestling. The first thing I loved in life was MMA. If I can have the opportunity to fight MMA in the UFC, that’s going to be a dream, too.”

The 28-year-old New Jersey native is undeniably hyped about what lies ahead in his career, but he made it clear that his journey into MMA will only come after he’s contributed to elevating jiu-jitsu within the UFC and inspiring the next generation of fighters.

“I want to do MMA, but the gift God has given me was jiu-jitsu, so I have to grow our sport first. I can’t leave our sport before helping it grow to a place where other people, other kids can have an organization to compete at in the future.”

Musumeci made his mark under the ONE Championship umbrella, where he began competing in October 2022 and maintained an impressive 7-0 undefeated streak. “Darth Rigatoni” was slated to defend his flyweight title against IBJJF world champion Carlos Oliveira on short notice in the co-main event of ONE 168 this past September.

Unfortunately, Musumeci was unable to make the 135-pound weight limit and failed a hydration test at the last minute, which resulted in him being stripped of his title.

Mikey Musumeci fails to make the weight and hydration to defend the ONE Flyweight Submission Grappling World Championship at ONE 168: Denver. A catchweight bout versus Bebeto Oliviera is now being negotiated.

Because Bebeto passed weight and hydration, he is still eligible to… pic.twitter.com/0kyzJZbRhN

— ONE Championship (@ONEChampionship) September 5, 2024

Adding to the setback, he was hospitalized with pneumomediastinum, forcing him to withdraw from the fight entirely. Not long after these challenges, Musumeci severed ties with the promotion.

Read More: What’s Next After UFC 309? Full Confirmed UFC 310 Main Card For T-Mobile Arena On Dec. 7

Mikey Musumeci Details Injury That Nearly Ended His Career: “My Lung Would Have Collapsed.”

Mikey Musumeci shared the alarming details surrounding the injury that took him out of ONE Championship’s return to ‘The…

Mikey Musumeci shared the alarming details surrounding the injury that took him out of ONE Championship’s return to ‘The Mile High City’ in September.

Reigning as the ONE flyweight submission grappling world champion, Musumeci was scheduled to square off with ADCC and CJI Invitational winner Kade Ruotolo at ONE 168. Unfortunately, Ruotolo was forced to bow out of the bout after sustaining injuries during his $1 million run at the inaugural Craig Jones Invitational weeks earlier.

As a result, Musumeci was instead booked to defend his flyweight title against Bebeto Oliveira at the event. The only problem was, ‘Darth Rigatoni’ was never scheduled to defend his title. Instead, he was scheduled to move up three weight classes and challenge Ruotolo for his ONE lightweight submission grappling crown.

Mikey Musumeci flips the switch on Gabriel Sousa at ONE 167 scaled 1

With a new opponent and only a week to cut a whopping 35 pounds, Musumeci immediately got to work. Unfortunately, he’d never make it to fight night. Musumeci missed weight and was subsequently stripped of his flyweight title. Weeks later, he exited ONE Championship.

Appearing on The Ariel Helwani Show, Musumeci shed some light on the situation and revealed that he was suffering from a very rare and life threatening illness while trying to cut the weight for ONE 168.

“So, basically, they offered me another opponent at 178 pounds,” Musumeci said. “I had to be a minimum of, I believe, like 165 or 160-something, but I walk around a lot lighter. I couldn’t legally make that weight because of the Athletic Commission rules. I told them, ‘I can’t make that weight,’ so I preferred to just stick to my division.

“At the time, I was very light. I could’ve made 135 pounds, no problem. But then the lung injury happened, which none of us knew about at the time. I only had two days to make weight, whereas I usually need at least a week. The night before the match, at weigh-ins, I was 140 pounds hydrated. The fight was set at 135 pounds. That night, I sustained the injury, which turned out to be called pneumomediastinum.

“It’s when your lung tears, and air leaks into your throat. I was trying to sweat and kept telling my friends, ‘What is wrong with my throat? It feels so sore.’ It felt like crispy bubbles in my throat. We all thought I was just dehydrated or dizzy. But I knew something felt off.

“I also tried a different style of cutting weight since I had only two days,” Musumeci continued. “I drank a lot of electrolytes, thinking it would help with the hydration test. In ONE Championship, they use a gravity test to check the sodium level in your urine. If it’s above 1.0250, you fail hydration. I thought drinking electrolytes would keep my levels balanced. But when the lung issue happened, my body shut down. I couldn’t sweat anymore and became super dizzy. My urine had so much sodium from the electrolytes that I couldn’t flush it out, even after drinking three gallons of water. Everything got stuck in my stomach.

“At that point, I felt something was really wrong and decided to go to the hospital. It turned out I was incredibly lucky not to have fought. The doctor said my lung would have collapsed in one minute, and I could have died.”

Mikey Musumeci explains why he left ONE Championship

According to Musumeci, the condition usually accounts for one in every 42,000 hospital cases.

“I was there for three or four days,” Musumeci added. “When I left, I couldn’t elevate my heart rate or breathe heavily for two weeks. Even walking made me feel weird. It was scary.”

Musumeci being forced to cut so much weight in such a short span sparked outrage from fight fans who lambasted ONE Championship for putting the New Jersey native in an almost impossible situation and then proceeded to strip him of his ONE flyweight submission grappling title when he couldn’t hit the mark.

Explaining why he decided to leave ONE, Musumeci appeared to hold no animosity toward the organization or it’s CEO, Chatri Sityodtong, who he describes as a parental figure.

Mikey Musumeci shares his reasoning for leaving One Championship and accepting the unprecedented UFC deal. pic.twitter.com/ymqS1CdFH4

— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) November 19, 2024

Musumeci has since signed a landmark deal with the UFC and is scheduled to make his debut at UFC Fight Pass Invitational 9 on December 5. ‘Darth Rigatoni’ will take on Felipe Machado at the event.

Mikey Musumeci Explains Why he Left ONE for the UFC: “We don’t have to question if they’ll have money a year from now.”

Darth Rigatoni’ Mikey Musumeci was a fan favorite in ONE Championship and a reigning titleholder in their submission grappling…

Darth Rigatoni’ Mikey Musumeci was a fan favorite in ONE Championship and a reigning titleholder in their submission grappling division. The American-Italian grappler walked away from ONE and signed with the UFC.

It is an interesting signing as Mikey Musumeci does not currently compete in MMA, but the UFC also does not have a submission grappling division. Thus, it may be an indication for the future that the UFC is looking at expanding into Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu competitions.

Musumeci was scheduled to face fellow grappler Kade Ruotolo in a BJJ match but Ruotolo suffered an injury and had to withdraw. ‘Darth Rigatoni’ was then rebooked but at a much lower weight and was forced to cut nearly 30 pounds in just a few days which led to illness. He was unable to make weight and was hospitalized. To add insult to injury, Mikey Musumeci was also stripped of his title due to this incident.

Mikey Musumeci Leaving ONE Championship

Recent news has come out that Mikey Musumeci left ONE Championship and has signed with the UFC. He will be competing at the UFC Fight Pass Invitational 9 grappling event on December 5 against Felipe Machado. The event will be hosted at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

Speaking in an interview with Ariel Helwani, Mikey Musumeci explained why he left ONE. He said:

“My contract was coming to an end, basically. I just wanted to be back home in the U.S. Again, I love ONE Championship, but I was there because of my relationship with Chatri. He was like a parent to me. He was probably my closest friend for a few years, and that’s why I moved to Asia. Then I decided I wanted to be back in the U.S., close to my family. The UFC is 10 to 15 minutes from my house, so it’s a no-brainer for me, especially being American. I also feel the UFC can bring a lot to grappling. It’s finally another platform that can expand our sport to people who wouldn’t typically watch jiu-jitsu.

“It’s a platform that will eventually have drug testing, a platform that can make our sport professional. Right now, there’s too much with steroids and craziness. I just want a legitimate, professional platform for athletes. For kids growing up, they can dream of being professional jiu-jitsu athletes without thinking about switching careers. The most fulfillment I can have as a person is setting that path for the next generation.

“I have no hard feelings toward ONE. How could I? They helped me grow so much as a person. I’m full of gratitude for Chatri. We were like a dysfunctional family sometimes—disagreements, fights—but at the end of the day, I’m grateful for everything he’s done for me. I’d never speak badly about him.”

On Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu promoters as a whole, he added:

“Of course. I’ll just say broadly—there’s a lot of shadiness and shady promoters who do messed-up things behind the scenes.

“Being in it for so many years, you get burnt out. It doesn’t feel legitimate or professional. You make money here and there, but then a shady arms dealer promotes an event, and suddenly they have money. You make money once, and then it disappears. Is this what we want for the next generation? No. We need a legitimate organization, like MLB, NBA, or NFL, where we don’t have to question if they’ll have money a year from now.“

Mikey Musumeci Explains UFC Signing

A BJJ athlete has never signed a contract with the UFC just to do submission grappling, but Mikey Musumeci has done exactly that. Being friends and meeting Hunter Campbell at the UFC Performance Institute helped this expansion. On why this happened, he explained:

“During that time, I trained in Vegas and was at UFC PI a lot. I met Hunter there; we became good friends, and that’s how the relationship started … They’re trying to take over jiu-jitsu like they did MMA. Their goal is to grow the sport exponentially—grappling leagues, everything.“

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu ace ‘Darth Rigatoni’ Mikey Musumeci may be the start of the UFC’s expansion into the submission grappling world.