UFC BJJ’s Mikey Musumeci dropped significant news during his recent appearance on The Ariel Helwani Show, revealing crucial details about his contract status and the state of UFC’s Brazilian jiu-jitsu division.
In a moment that caught host Ariel Helwani off guard, Musumeci revealed:
“My contract’s actually up now with UFC, so I’m up for renegotiation, resigning.”
When pressed for details, he confirmed he’s essentially a free agent, stating his contract ends
“like in a few days from now.”
“Whoa, this is massive news, Mikey. You’ve been noselling us here. This is the topline story,”
Helwani responded, clearly surprised by the revelation. Musumeci confirmed he’ll be meeting with UFC executive Hunter Campbell soon to discuss terms, adding that
“Hunter loves me” and “he’s a big fan.”
Regarding the current state of UFC BJJ after three events, Musumeci offered a measured assessment:
“I think it’s expected with only three events how they’re doing things, right? It’s the beginning, right? And they just started it. We’re moving at a okay pace… definitely there’s a lot of learning that they have to do and build because it takes time to do this, right?”
He expressed optimism about the promotion’s commitment, noting:
“I think they’re all in. I think that they said they plan to have 10 events next year.”
Musumeci didn’t shy away from discussing the criticism he faces from hardcore jiu-jitsu fans.
“The jiu-jitsu hardcores… think it’s okay. It’s like manly, it’s like masculine, it’s tough if you just wrestle and you just collar tie and nothing happens, like one of the most boring matches ever. But if you go in and you just try to submit the person as fast as you can, that’s that’s ga y. That’s feminine, you know?”
Despite the criticism, his numbers tell a different story.
“I’m gaining like over 10,000 followers a day… I have 73 million views on my page in a month now on Instagram,”
he revealed, adding that he now has more followers than established stars like Gordon Ryan.
Musumeci is certainly the biggest name they have on the roster. They do have other more attractive grapplers signed but they’ve demonstrated a failure to market them. Musumeci’s claim of rising social media following also checks out, however it’s a little bit suspicious considering the lack of buzz for anything he does outside of established platforms.
Looking ahead, Musumeci emphasized his role in growing the sport:
“I’m just trying to help grow our landscape for the next generation… the numbers again are like unheard of in jiu-jitsu that we’re having now.”
Regarding his immediate future, Musumeci remained diplomatic about his contract negotiations:
“I don’t know at all what’s going on, but we’ll see… UFC was good to me this year and we’ll see like what happens and what we talk about.”
The 29-year-old champion’s contract situation could significantly impact UFC BJJ’s trajectory as he’s become the promotion’s most recognizable face and biggest draw in the lighter weight divisions.
