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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.”

Mikey Musumeci Explains Why he Left ONE for the UFC 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.

Mikey Musumeci

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.

Video: Mackenzie Dern is Submitted by Ffion Davies with an Armbar

UFC athlete Mackenzie Dern was taken down and submitted by Ffion Davies during their match at the Craig Jones…

UFC athlete Mackenzie Dern was taken down and submitted by Ffion Davies during their match at the Craig Jones Invitational hosted in Las Vegas this past weekend. Millions of dollars were awarded to the winners of the event, but Wales’ Ffion Davies took the headlines with her impressive throw and grappling work.

Ffion Davies

The Welsh-born Ffion Davies is carving a name for herself as being one of the all-time greats in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. Ffion Davies has achieved remarkable success in grappling competitions. She won first place at the ADCC in 2022 and secured the top spot at the IBJJF World Championship in both 2022 and 2023. In the NOGI category, she claimed first place at the IBJJF World Championship in 2018, 2021, and 2023. Additionally, she succeeded at the IBJJF European Open in 2019 and 2020, as well as at the CBJJ Brazilian Nationals in 2019. Davies also took first place in the UAEJJF Grand Slam in London in both 2019 and 2020.

Mackenzie Dern

The American-Brazilian Mackenzie Dern is a UFC fighter but comes from an incredibly decorated background in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. Mackenzie Dern has an impressive list of achievements in the world of grappling. She secured first place at the ADCC Championship in 2015 and also won the IBJJF World Championships that same year. In the NOGI category, she took first place at the IBJJF World Championships in 2015. Dern continued her winning streak by claiming first place at the IBJJF Pan American Championships in both 2015 and 2016.

Ffion Davies vs. Mackenzie Dern

Despite her background in grappling, the UFC’s Mackenzie Dern was out of her element when it came to rolling against Ffion Davies at the CJI. In the second of their meeting, Davies tosses Dern with a very impressive head and arm throw, then angles to achieve a perfect inverted armbar forcing the tap.

See the highlights below:

Top female grappler Ffion Davies made easy work of Mackenzie Dern at CJI. pic.twitter.com/20ULqfCoVF

— Anton Tabuena (@antontabuena) August 18, 2024

Ladies THIS is how you perform a head and arm throw. Absolutely insane submission from Ffion Davis on Mackenzie Dern pic.twitter.com/RAvZdTvEPw

— Josie Aldo (@JosieAldoMMA) August 18, 2024

Video – BJJ ace Craig Jones lands stunning flying triangle submission of UFC star Phil Rowe against wall

BJJ Ace Craig Jones secured a win over UFC welterweight contender Phil Rowe last night in little over a…

BJJ Ace Craig Jones secured a win over UFC welterweight contender Phil Rowe last night in little over a minute of their submission grappling match.

Jones added yet another notch to his belt after landing a flying triangle during Krate Combat 44 in what was part of their Pit Submission Series. Prior to their match, Craig Jones spoke to the importance of securing a finish, even if it was just to get a one up on his friend. Check out the impressive submission below.

Craig Jones used wall to land flying triangle

“Phil Rowe faced Nicky Rod,” Jones bag via the El Segundo Podcast Clips YouTube channel. “Nicky Rod couldn’t finish him, that enticed me to do the match because I said ‘Hey if Nicky Rod couldn’t finish him and I can finish him, when I finally return to the B-Team I can say hey kiss the ring mate, the king of B-team is back’. And he’s a mid-30s cocaine and Xanax-addicted professional athlete and he submitted an opponent you couldn’t.”

In the same video, Jones also discussed how the Pit wall could change the dynamic of the match, much like it did in his actual finish.

“We’ll actually be in the Pit,” Jones said. “It’s actually really f*****g stirred my interest. The shape of the Pit is sick, it’s not fence wrestling – if I shoot on you and your back hits the wall, there’s a platform for you to use the wall to stay up. But the pit is an angle. If I shoot on you can’t sprawl your feet are going to hit the base of the pit. Maybe you jump your feet up the Pit and you do some young Anthony Pettis s**t but how many people are gonna do that? For me, I think if you shoot a double, there’s no ability to sprawl you can just run them into the pit wall.”

Outside of competition Jones has become a very popular figure not just in the BJJ world but has made himself in the MMA sphere. Jones has amassed a good following on social media and continues to put more time into YouTube and podcasts.

Who would you like to see Craig Jones face next?

Video – BJJ ace Craig Jones lands stunning flying triangle submission of UFC star Phil Rowe against wall

BJJ Ace Craig Jones secured a win over UFC welterweight contender Phil Rowe last night in little over a…

BJJ Ace Craig Jones secured a win over UFC welterweight contender Phil Rowe last night in little over a minute of their submission grappling match.

Craig Jones used wall to land flying triangle

In the same video, Jones also discussed how the Pit wall could change the dynamic of the match, much like it did in his actual finish.

Who would you like to see Craig Jones face next?

Aljamain Sterling Scores Questionable Split Decision Over Chase Hooper at ADXC-2 Grappling Event

Aljamain Sterling earned a split-decision victory over Chase Hooper in a No Gi grappling match at the Abu Dhabi…

Aljamain Sterling earned a split-decision victory over Chase Hooper in a No Gi grappling match at the Abu Dhabi Extreme Championship event on Friday.

Emanating from the Mubadala Arena at Zayed Sports City, ADXC-2 was the third time we’ve seen the former UFC bantamweight champion put his grappling skills to the test since suffering a brutal second-round knockout loss against Sean O’Malley at UFC 292.

After making appearances under the Polaris and Fury Pro banners, the ‘Funkmaster’ went toe-to-toe with fellow UFC fighter Chase Hooper in an event that also featured notable MMA standouts including Rinat Fakhredinov, Sidney Outlaw, Terrance McKinney, and Douglas Lima.

After going the distance with Hooper, Sterling was revealed as the winner via a closely contested split decision.

Aljamain Sterling defeats Chase Hooper via split decision #ADXC2 pic.twitter.com/UXZRLKXQNB

— MMA Mania (@mmamania) January 19, 2024

“Hooper did some good stuff and I expected that,” Sterling said in a post-match interview. “He was the bigger guy coming into this and I’m trying to transition, going up a weight class so what better way to test my skills than to see how good of a grappler I truly am for MMA and for competition BJJ than going against a guy like that.”

Fans Don’t Agree With Aljamain Sterling’s Split Decision Win

There were many fight fans tuning into the contest who did not agree with the decision in favor of Sterling, some calling the result an outright robbery on social media.

“He even robbing people in grappling competitions. Biggest fraud ever.”

“Robbery”

“SPLIT??”

“Corruption”

“And the crowd goes mild”

“N***a is the goat of split decisions”

“The splitmaster does it again”

After establishing himself as one of the greatest bantamweights in UFC history, Aljamain Sterling will make the move to featherweight at UFC 300 where he is set to square off with division staple Calvin Kattar.

Car-Jitsu, Submission Grappling Inside Of A Car

Yes, you did read that right. Car-Jitsu is the newest style of competition to enter the combat world. If you thought facing someone in a grappling match alone was hard enough, try doing it inside of a car. Car Jitsu was initially created by Vik Mikheev in 2020. The two participants compete in two three-minute […]

Yes, you did read that right. Car-Jitsu is the newest style of competition to enter the combat world.

If you thought facing someone in a grappling match alone was hard enough, try doing it inside of a car.

Car Jitsu was initially created by Vik Mikheev in 2020. The two participants compete in two three-minute rounds with each player alternating between the driven and passenger in between rounds.

Points are earned by gaining a dominant position or securing a submission. If the score remains tied following the second round, both members will compete in a ‘back-seat only’ grappling match with the winner determined by whoever earns the most points within the 4-minute time limit.

The ruleset states that everything inside the vehicle is considered fair game and allowed to be used and will be classed as ‘creative use of the environment’ that includes mirrors, seat belts, and even the steering wheel. How you use them to your advantage really is yet to be seen but as the sport develops, we are only going to see weird and wonderful moments because of these objects being in play. 4-points are awarded if you can achieve mount or back control, whilst you are awarded two points in you are able to place your knee onto your opponent’s stomach.

The Origins of Car-Jitsu

Founder Viz Mikheev spoke to the Jiu-Jitsu Times on how he came up with this truly unique idea in the first place.

“In 2020, I came up with the idea of doing competitive grappling in vehicles. Since October of 2020, I and my friends run small tournaments of Car-Jitsu to study the aspects of jiu-jitsu application in such a confined space. (transcribed by mmanews.com)

Many fighters within the UFC will compete in such things as Submission Grappling and competing across these sports can get confusing, Sean Strickland demonstrated this when he gave up his back to Andy Varela who subsequently went onto to secure a Rear-naked choke. At least with car-Jitsu you own be able to just walk off from your opponent.

However, this isn’t the first time we have had a unique styled sport enter the combat world, with competitions such as combat pillow fighting and multi-member team MMA battles, Car-Jitsu will have to be added to the list alongside these.

Would you give Car-Jitsu a try?