Mikey Musumeci open to MMA move in the UFC, but first mission is to make jiu-jitsu popular

Grappling sensation Mikey Musumeci is open to the idea of competing in mixed martial arts in the future, but only after he helps popularize jiu-jitsu under the UFC banner.

The former ONE grappling champion left the Asian organization and signed a unique deal with the UFC to compete on their UFC Fight Pass Invitational shows, starting with a Dec. 5 match with Felipe Machado in Las Vegas, and explained his plans in an interview with MMA Fighting after being introduced as a big signing during UFC 309 this past weekend at Madison Square Garden.

“It’s all so incredible to me,” Musumeci said. “We’re trying to change the sport. It all started with IBJJF, which was important, but now we can grow the sport to a more professional place for other people. This is my dream. I have enough titles already, I don’t want more titles. The only thing I want is to have an impact for the future generation, so they have an organization where they can make enough money.”

Being tied to the world’s leading MMA organization could facilitate Musumeci securing bigger deals in a future transition to the sport, and he’s interested.

“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. 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.”

The 28-year-old said his ideal game for a MMA fight would be the combination of Ryan Hall, Khabib Nurmagomedov and Khamzat Chimaev fighting styles. He trains with Gilbert Burns, who has given him his black belt in jiu-jitsu, and often works with former UFC flyweight champion Brandon Moreno to add more weapons to his skillset.

“I have so many good people in my life,” Musumeci said. “But, again, like I said, I want to help the sport of jiu-jitsu grow first. I have that obligation, this desire in my heart, to help out sport first. And then I can do something crazy [laughs].”

Musumeci competed exclusively under the ONE Championship banner since April of 2022 and said it was “an incredible part of my life.” He parted ways with the promotion shortly after a cancelled match that left him hospitalized with “a life-threatening condition” from a botched weight cut.

“I’m very grateful to Chatri [Sityodtong] for the opportunity he’s given me,” Musumeci said. “I had three amazing years there. I’ve learned so much from him, he’s helped a lot in my life. The only thing I’ll say about him and ONE is that I’m grateful for everything they have done.”

The concept at ONE Championship was to build cards that included not only MMA bouts, but also grappling, kickboxing and muay thai, and Musumeci said it was a great way to introduce jiu-jitsu to fans from other martial arts.

“And now the UFC has many, many plans for grappling,” Musumeci said. “They want to grow our sport to other people as well. The thing I loved about ONE was that MMA and may thai people watching jiu-jitsu, and the UFC will grow our sport that people will start watching and loving jiu-jitsu, too.”

The four-time IBJJF champion celebrates the fact the UFC giving grapplers a “safer” environment to compete at, too.

“The problem with many organizations now, brother, is that [athletes] are not safe,” Musumeci said. “Sometimes they have money, sometimes they don’t. Too much politics. Now, with the UFC, we finally have an organization that will be safe and more professional with other people. My dream is to make this sport grow.”

Musumeci left ONE with seven wins in seven matches, including submissions over Shinya Aoki and Jarred Brooks. His first challenge in Las Vegas will be a match with Felipe Machado on the week of UFC 310, and he embraces the pressure that comes from being a star.

“I have so f***ing pressure this time,” Musumeci laughed. “I have the biggest pressure ever this time but I love it because I grow from pressure. I’m used to this kind of pressure. You feel like you’re dying, but then you get used to dying. I’m blessed by that pressure, and I’m using all this pressure as energy to have more hunger in the gym. You’ll see a hungry Musumeci looking to finish the match.”