Mikey Musumeci is no longer the UFC BJJ bantamweight champion. The decorated jiu-jitsu champion and face of the promotion has announced that he is officially vacating his belt to “prioritize” a move to mixed martial arts.
“END OF ANOTHER CHAPTER – today I would like to announce that I have decided to vacate my @ufcbjj bantamweight title,” Musumeci wrote on social media. “I haven’t lost a match in this category for almost 10 years and have won every title that I had wanted to win in my career in gi
and nogi. (ADCC is not my category and I have no ambition to go up weight classes for no money 🤣 so yeh) I am 30 years old and have been obsessed with training MMA and want to prioritize my training for MMA!”
The promotion also confirmed the news during theUFC BJJ 12 broadcast. Musumeci didn’t announce specific dates on a potential MMA debut, but the jiu-jitsu star says he will also continue competing in “super fights” with UFC BJJ.
“I train Jiu Jitsu everyday still and can come back anytime 🥸… I will continue to do more grappling super fights with @ufcbjj just a different style of Jiu Jitsu more to get people out of our sport to watch! That means more to me at the point I am in my career,” he wrote. “Excited about my next chapter SO MANY CRAZY THINGS AHEAD”
Musumeci recently dominated UFC fighter Bryce Mitchell despite offering modified rules, and plans to continue competing in similar crossover match ups in the future.
Musumeci ending his ‘serious’ BJJ career, highlights UFC BJJ’s failure to book serious match ups
It’s understandable that Mikey Musumeci would prefer making good money on relatively easy and fun match ups, but at the same time, closing this chapter prematurely also highlights how his UFC BJJ stint was handled.
Including his one match with UFC Fight Pass Invitational before the rebrand, Musumeci competed in six matches with the UFC, with matchmaking in those bouts being criticized by key players in the industry. Only one of his opponents was against a world champion — Shay Montague, a no gi world champ from a lighter division — while the rest of his opponents were overmatched, and under qualified to be in title bouts with someone like Musumeci.
It’s not Musumeci’s fault, but in their two years together, UFC BJJ matchmakers failed to book the best opponents possible for a champion of his stature. One could argue the UFC wanted to focus on growing the promotion for a new audience, instead of booking the best match ups for those who already follow the sport. But as Musumeci closes the book on his “serious” jiujitsu career, it seems fair to question how much of that really even happened at UFC BJJ.
From Musumeci’s side however, he seems to be doing his job as a prize-fighter perfectly, now that he doesn’t really need to prove himself anymore. He already won major titles in IBJJF, ONE, and UFC BJJ, and has perfectly leveraged that to increase his status and popularity with each match up. Regardless if he truly makes the jump to MMA soon, it looks like he will have similar bookings like the Mitchell crossover and will continue to make good money grappling with far easier opponents.
Musumeci’s teammate Jalen Fonacier competes for vacant UFC BJJ title
As Musumeci vacates his title, it didn’t take long for the UFC to move forward with his division. As announced during the UFC BJJ 12 broadcast, Musumeci’s teammate and two-time IBJJF world champion Jalen Fonacier will get the opportunity to compete for the vacant UFC BJJ bantamweight title next.
When Musumeci held the bantamweight belt, he repeatedly called for UFC BJJ to open up a flyweight division where Fonacier could get a title shot in his more natural weight class. He is now getting a title shot, but it’ll instead be for the very belt that his teammate has vacated.
The 21-year-old Filipino grappling champ is a perfect 4-0 with UFC BJJ. Fonacier will face Kleber Barboza, who will make his debut in an immediate title shot, after signing up and winning the UFC BJJ Opens in Las Vegas.
Other top grappling stars like Nick Rodriguez and Ffion Davies have also been booked for UFC BJJ 13 on October 29.
UFC BJJ 13 fight card so far
Jalen Fonacier vs. Kleber Barboza [BW title]
Nick Rodriguez vs. Nata Tenca
Ffion Davies vs. Jaine Fragoso
Liam Crelinsten vs. Seilkhan Bolatbek
Martin Gonzalez vs. Joao Nicolite
Tristan Sainz vs. David Weintraub
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