Musumeci Says He Is Done Defending His UFC BJJ Belt
Mikey Musumeci wants the UFC to take the Brazilian jiu-jitsu belt off him.
The inaugural UFC BJJ bantamweight champion said that after a unanimous decision over Bryce Mitchell at UFC BJJ 11 on September 24 in Las Vegas. The win pushed a 17-match streak and left him talking about superfights instead of another title defense.
“I kind of am done with grappling matches,” Musumeci said. “I’ve been talking to UFC about getting rid of my belt now and just moving on to doing more super fight based matches like this, cuz I actually enjoyed it.”
He has not vacated anything yet. That still depends on a meeting with UFC executive Hunter Campbell.
“I don’t really have any more intention of defending my belt, but I still have to have that meeting with Hunter and the team,” he said. “Hunter’s been so supportive to me, I’m really grateful for Hunter.”
The Mitchell match was the template he wants next. It was not a title fight. Musumeci moved up to featherweight for a crossover against an active UFC bantamweight, and the two worked under a pre-fight agreement that took his usual leglock game off the table.
Mitchell slammed him, ground his forehead in, and survived deep submission attempts. Musumeci still won every scorecard after 15 minutes. That was his first UFC BJJ result that did not end in a tap.
He liked the mess more than another clean sport-jiu-jitsu final. “If the person has to rub their head into my head, they have to put their fingers in my face, sure, that’s great,” he said. “I think that’s what made me happy. I’m like, okay, this is definitely more entertaining for people.”
The names he floated next were MMA names. “Maybe talk to have a grappling match like Brian Ortega or Armand, people like that, that we could just bring the MMA audience into the matches and they could enjoy it too.”
“Armand” is Arman Tsarukyan, the lightweight he has already asked for in grappling. Ortega is the other crossover he thinks casual UFC viewers would actually sit through.
That is the point he kept circling. “MMA people were able to watch this match finally,” he said. “Usually the MMA people can’t watch a jiu-jitsu match.”
Musumeci has held the UFC BJJ bantamweight title since June 25, 2025, when he beat Rerisson Gabriel at UFC BJJ 1. He defended it three times after that, all by submission. The Mitchell win did not put the belt on the line. It did change what he says he wants from the promotion.
MMA is the other half of the plan. “Even in my MMA journey, like, that’s my next path, right?” he said. “So, right now, just, I want to start doing more matches like this.”
He has said elsewhere that he is training MMA at Syndicate under John Wood and wants a flyweight debut before the year ends. That date is not booked. The belt is not vacated. The only confirmed next step in his own words is the meeting with Campbell.
If the UFC lets him drop the title, the bantamweight division on that roster opens for the first time since the promotion launched it. If the company asks him to defend once more, he has already said he does not want that assignment.
The Mitchell fight gave him the argument he wanted. A UFC fighter showed up, made it ugly, and still lost a decision to a grappler who gave away his best attacks. Musumeci called that more watchable than another night of pulling guard for points.
He still has to say that in a room with Hunter Campbell. Until that meeting happens, he remains champion. The public position is already on the record. He is done chasing the same belt. He wants Ortega, Tsarukyan, and fights that look like the one he just had.
