Recently, 10th Planet Jiu Jitsu founder Eddie Bravo praised ONE Flyweight Submission Grappling World Champion Mikey Musumeci in a discussion with Joe Rogan.
Appearing on “The Joe Rogan Experience” podcast, Bravo remembered the flyweight submission sensation, as well as Ruotolo brothers Kade and Tye, when looking back at his experience attending ONE Championship’s landmark United States on-ground debut in May.
Joe recently dropped some truth bombs about ONE! pic.twitter.com/NuoKUPtzrn
— Chatri Sityodtong (@yodchatri) October 31, 2023
Traditionally, most promotions reserve their platforms for MMA competitors. However, the fourth-degree Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt couldn’t believe how ONE elevated the grappling competitors at ONE Fight Night 10.
“Chatri [Sityodtong] invited me to that Denver show, the first U.S. show. That was insane. It was just a mix of kickboxing, MMA, grappling,” Bravo recalled.
“And the grapplers [who] came out, they looked like superstars. The Ruotolo brothers and Mikey Musumeci, they’re superstars.”
Joe Rogan, who is known for his love for Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, also discussed about Mikey Musumeci during a previous episode of his podcast, which featured BJJ goat Gordon Ryan. Rogan described Musumeci as “a f*cking genius” and Gordon seemed to agree.
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Speaking about Musumeci’s unbeatable gaurd game, the John Danaher student added, “I think his [Musumeci’s] legs are proportionately shorter than his upper body. So you’re trying to pass his guard and [Musumeci’s] little tiny feet slip into places they normally wouldn’t be able to because his legs are so short.”
“So, I’m like f*cking trying to pass his guard and stuff and his feet are coming inside my arms. I’m like: “I don’t know what to do here.” (h/t via BJJ Easter Europe)
Mikey Musumeci is not the only talented up and coming grappler
Mikey Musumeci has been one of the greatest beneficiaries of ONE’s foray into the grappling world.
In fact, his six-fight promotional run landed him the inaugural ONE flyweight submission grappling strap and cemented his status as one of the best grapplers in the world today.
“Darth Rigatoni” is now a headline attraction at ONE events and, because of that, he has seen his social media following swell to almost half a million on Instagram alone.
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The New Jersey native was last seen in action submitting Shinya Aoki with the Japanese MMA legend’s own signature heel hook at ONE Fight Night 15 this past October.
While Kade Ruotolo is the ONE Lightweight Submission Grappling World Champion, his twin brother, Tye, will compete for the inaugural ONE Welterweight Submission Grappling World Title at ONE Fight Night 16: Haggerty vs. Andrade this November 3.