Mikey Musumeci will do everything he can to make sure UFC BJJ is a smashing success.
Earlier this month, Ultimate Fighting Championship announced that they are officially launching a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu promotion with its inaugural event to be held on Wednesday, June 25, smack dab in the middle of International Fight Week.
Musumeci, a former ONE world champion and five-time IBJJF gold medalist, will headline the festivities when he takes on renowned BJJ black belt Rerisson Gabriel. The winner will emerge as the promotion’s first-ever 135-pound titleholder.
In addition, the promotion is launching UFC BJJ: Road to the Title, a show similar to The Ultimate Fighter, which sees Musumeci and Gabriel serve as coaches for an eight-episode season that launched on June 12 via the UFC’s YouTube channel.
Mikey Musumeci is taking things one step at a time
Determined to establish himself as the face of UFC BJJ, Musumeci knows that he’ll first have to take care of business against a decorated grappler who has never once been submitted in his career.
“My mindset is always to complete a task, you have to complete small tasks to complete a big task,” Musumeci told MMA Fighting. “I don’t look past every small task I have ahead of me. It’s one, weigh-ins; two, every day is a match for me; I have to get through each small battle; the match itself, the three five-minute rounds. At the end of that, I could appreciate and enjoy that belt if we get there, God willing.
“It would be incredible and insane for me to even imagine that. I just don’t want to even think about it yet. I never look past anyone. I’m never overconfident. I feel like that is my strongest attribute. I really respect Gabriel, and I know it’s going to be a tough match, so I just have to focus on each minute of that match. I will focus on the minutes, but I won’t focus on the result. The result will come when I dominate every minute.”
