Two-time ADCC champion Diogo “Baby Shark” Reis has finally addressed the ongoing controversy surrounding accusations from Mikey Musumeci that he avoided a potential match between the two grapplers.
In an interview with VF Comunica, the 23-year-old Brazilian star set the record straight about why a match with Musumeci never materialized.
“When I signed with ONE Championship, I was supposed to face Musumeci,”
Reis explained.
“I had already signed to grapple Mike. And then I got injured against Pato.”
The injury occurred during competition and forced Reis to make a critical decision about his career trajectory. Rather than undergo surgery, he opted for conservative treatment, which required extensive rehabilitation.
“It was six months of physical therapy, a lot of work,”
Reis revealed.
“I had to gain more muscle mass to get stronger and support my knee.”
During his recovery period, Reis says he communicated his situation to Musumeci‘s team.
“I told him I wouldn’t be able to,”
Reis stated. However, Musumeci has repeatedly claimed in interviews that Reis rejected match offers multiple times, even suggesting it happened “six or seven times.”
Reis finds these accusations puzzling, especially given the circumstances.
“Mikey does several interviews saying that I didn’t accept, didn’t accept, didn’t accept,”
Reis said.
“But I was in recovery. I had two ADCC matches that were test to see if I could perform.”
The injury concerns were compounded by weight-cutting challenges, as Reis needed to maintain the strength to compete at 61 kilograms while protecting his recovering knee.
The timing of the potential matchup proved problematic for other reasons as well. Reis was laser-focused on defending his ADCC title in 2024, choosing to compete exclusively in no-gi competition rather than splitting his attention between gi and no-gi disciplines.
“I focused solely on ADCC to defend my title,”
he explained.
“I wanted to prove that if I win one I can win two too.”
Regarding Musumeci‘s narrative, Reis maintains there’s no bad blood and actually sees value in the callouts.
“I think it’s cool I think it’s good even for the sport,”
Reis said.
“It’s been a while since we’ve seen a match like this at lightweight that everyone wanted to see.”
As for a potential future matchup, Reis remains open to the possibility but is currently committed to his ONE Championship contract. He acknowledged that UFC has reached out, but his current contractual obligations take priority.
When asked how he’d approach a match with Musumeci, Reis showed confidence without arrogance.
“There’s no mystery to me. It would be that match between passer and guard player,”
he said. He drew comparisons to his ADCC victory over Pato, noting that Pato‘s leg lock game is similar to Musumeci‘s but more complete.
“I wouldn’t be surprised by Mike because his game is already predictable.”
For now, he’s focused on his upcoming title match against Yonekura on December 5th, where he’ll compete for a ONE Championship belt at 61 kilograms.
