When the announcement came that Mikey Musumeci would face Bryce Mitchell at UFC BJJ on September 24, the grappling community’s response ranged from puzzled to openly frustrated.
The post from Musumeci and the UFC BJJ official accounts, captioned “The most ‘heteros3xual’ grappling match in history – Sept 24 NO BUTT SCOOTING AND NONE OF THAT WEIRD LEG LOCK STUFF,” generated plenty of attention, but the match itself generated more questions than excitement.
Mitchell replied with enthusiasm: “thanks brother! a true honor to compete against a legend. the fans will love this one.”
The sentiment was genuine enough, but it did little to address the obvious concern about his qualifications for this level of booking.
Mitchell has previously competed at EBI 25, where he was submitted by a 19-year-old Landon Elmore.
Elmore is 1-2 in UFC BJJ, with back-to-back decision losses to Rerisson Gabriel in February and Keith Krikorian in May. His only win in the organization came via footlock over Nate Hernandez in December 2025.
According to sources, Elmore trains under John Danaher at New Wave and had not yet entered the conversation as a major name in competitive grappling before that night. Within a single tournament, he changed that.
Elmore swept the 16-man EBI 25 lightweight bracket with four consecutive heel hook finishes, and the win over Mitchell came in the quarterfinals.
From the opening seconds of their match, Elmore dictated the pace. He attempted a flying triangle that forced Mitchell into desperate defense near the boundaries. Once they were reset to the center, the teenager transitioned into a k-guard entry, methodically worked to Mitchell’s legs, and locked up a heel hook that produced the tap. It was a clinic on the technical gap that separates pure grappling specialists from mixed martial artists, even capable ones.
Elmore went on to claim the EBI 25 lightweight title and the $20,000 prize.
This is not a problem unique to the Musumeci-Mitchell booking. UFC BJJ’s approach to matchmaking has drawn repeated criticism throughout the year, and the promotion’s 135 lbs (61.2 kg) championship picture tells a similarly frustrating story.
At UFC BJJ 8 on May 21, Musumeci faced Kevin Dantzler in a match billed as a contest for the number one spot in the world at 135 lbs (61.2 kg). Dantzler does not have a page on BJJHeroes.
He lost 13-0 in the quarterfinals of the 2025 IBJJF Pan No-Gi Championship at Light Featherweight. According to the people around him, a purple belt submitted him just two weeks before the booking surfaced.
Max Hanson made the concern public.
“This is the 135 lb championship for UFC BJJ,” Hanson said. “This is supposed to be for the number one spot in the world for 135, and my teammate, who’s a purple belt, tapped this dude out two weeks ago. Make no mistake, this is simply a showcase for Mikey to tap this guy out quite quickly.”
Throughout the year, Musumeci had been linked to a potential match against Arman Tsarukyan, the UFC’s number one lightweight contender and a formidable wrestler. He has repeatedly been passed over, however.
Unlike most talent in the UFC’s orbit, Tsarukyan operates with financial independence and competes regularly in other organizations including RAF. When the UFC moved on from negotiations, so did he, finding opportunities elsewhere.
The result is that Musumeci gets Mitchell instead.
Mitchell’s public profile has long attracted attention for reasons that have nothing to do with grappling. His enthusiasm for internet conspiracy theories, including a well-documented belief in flat earth theory, has made him a recurring subject of ridicule outside the sport.
Inside it, his UFC BJJ record and his EBI exit suggest his credentials are considerably thinner than the matchup with Musumeci implies.
For a promotion still working to establish itself, UFC BJJ cannot keep eroding credibility through soft matchmaking. Applying the UFC’s promotional model to competitive grappling without the same infrastructure, audience, or brand equity behind it produces nights that feel more like exhibitions than title matches. The grappling community has watched it happen more than once this year, and their patience is running out.
