Mikey Musumeci is no longer the UFC BJJ bantamweight champion. The American announced on social media that he has decided to vacate the bantamweight belt of the UFC’s grappling league to shift his focus to preparing for MMA. The organization confirmed his departure during the UFC BJJ 12 broadcast.
At 30, ‘Darth Rigatoni’ feels he has already achieved everything he wanted in Jiu-Jitsu, both gi and no-gi. The plan now is to commit fully to a new phase of his career, this time with gloves on.
A NEW CHAPTER: MIKEY MUSUMECI TRADES THE BELT FOR MMA TRAINING
The decision is hardly a surprise for those who follow the champion closely. In September, after dominating Bryce Mitchell at UFC BJJ 11, Musumeci had already floated the possibility of giving up the title to pursue new challenges. The choice of opponent said a lot: Mitchell is a UFC MMA fighter.
Explaining his decision in the announcement, the athlete was direct: “I’m obsessed with training MMA and I want to prioritize my training.” In the same message, he made it clear the door remains open: “I still train Jiu-Jitsu every day and I can come back at any time.”
Musumeci is not abandoning grappling. He keeps training and plans to continue doing superfights at UFC BJJ, just without the obligation of defending the belt. For now, there is no date or organization set for his MMA debut.
A REIGN OF SUBMISSIONS: FOUR TITLE FIGHTS, FOUR FINISHES
Mikey Musumeci leaves the title without ever losing a belt fight at UFC BJJ. He had four title fights, all won by submission and almost always with his signature weapon: leg attacks.
The story began with the league’s debut in June 2025. In the main event of UFC BJJ 1, Musumeci submitted Brazil’s Rerisson Gabriel with a heel hook and became the organization’s first bantamweight champion.
At UFC BJJ 3, in October, the champion kept his belt with the submission that bears his name, the ‘Mikey Lock’, over Keven Carrasco, still in the first round. In February, at UFC BJJ 5, he faced Scotland’s Shay Montague, an IBJJF No-Gi world champion, and won with a foot lock in the second round.
His most memorable defense may have been the last one. At UFC BJJ 8, in May, Musumeci submitted Kevin Dantzler with a heel hook in the opening minutes, despite treating an infection and running a fever the day before. From the Meta Apex, he went straight to the hospital.
A LEGENDARY RÉSUMÉ: WHAT ‘DARTH RIGATONI’ TAKES FROM JIU-JITSU
The UFC BJJ belt is just the latest piece of an extensive collection. Musumeci is a five-time IBJJF black belt world champion and was the first American to win more than one of the federation’s world titles at the highest belt.
At ONE Championship, he was the inaugural flyweight submission grappling champion. With that résumé, he heads to MMA as one of the most complete grapplers of his generation, known for the leg lock game that became his trademark.
VACANT BELT: JALEN FONACIER AND KLEBER BARBOSA DECIDE THE NEW CHAMPION
With Musumeci gone, the bantamweight title gets a new owner at the very next event. Jalen Fonacier and Brazil’s Kleber Barbosa headline UFC BJJ 13 on October 29 at the Meta Apex in Las Vegas, with the vacant belt on the line. The event streams on UFC Fight Pass.
Fonacier arrives as one of the league’s most dangerous finishers. Unbeaten in the organization, he has piled up submission wins and submitted world champion Bebeto Oliveira with a heel hook in just 19 seconds at UFC BJJ 5.
Across from him, Kleber Barbosa arrives hungry. The Brazilian black belt earned his title shot by winning UFC BJJ Opens in Las Vegas and now has the chance to inherit the spot left by one of the biggest names in the league’s history.
The night in Las Vegas will feature another belt on the line. William Tackett and Jay Rod fight for the vacant middleweight title that belonged to Ronaldo Junior. For the UFC’s grappling league, it is the end of one era at bantamweight and the start of another.
This article was originally published in Portuguese: read the original version.
