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.
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