Reigning ONE Flyweight Submission Grappling World Champion Mikey “Darth Rigatoni” Musumeci is leading the charge as a natural athlete in BJJ.

The New Jersey native is set to move up in weight to challenge fellow American superstar Kade Ruotolo for his lightweight submission grappling gold on September 6 in U.S. primetime at ONE 168: Denver, live from Ball Arena.

Mikey Musumeci highlights the long-term health benefits of staying steroid-free in BJJ

As a lifetime practitioner of BJJ and the man regarded by many as the greatest-ever American-born BJJ competitor, Musumeci knows firsthand just how prevalent steroid use is in BJJ.

But, as someone who has never once touched a performance-enhancing drug, he knows that the short-term benefits of steroids don’t compare to the long-term detrimental effects on an athlete’s health.

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He recently spoke about how being a steroid-free athlete will allow him to continue to compete at an elite level for years to come: “I think it’s crazy. I’m 28 now. Do I look 28? I look so much younger than 28. And we look at people that are 28, 29 in jiu-jitsu, and they look 30-something, you know, like 40s, and it just shows you what steroids do to your body.”

He further added, “My body is like, 20, 21 right now. I’m very young, my body, and that’s why I have so many more years I could compete. “I’m so healthy, young, and I have no injuries. Thank God. And I have so many more years in my career. While these people, they’re selling themselves short by just cheating and limiting their jiu-jitsu.”

Advocating for a drug-free future in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu

Musumeci is vocal about changing the culture of steroids in BJJ, in large part because he’s concerned about young competitors inflicting serious harm on their bodies. He says that, with organizations like ONE Championship leading the way, a cleaner sport is on the horizon:

“With time, it’s gonna change, because what’s gonna happen is there’s gonna come a time that there will be enforced drug testing year-round once there’s enough money, “ said Musumeci

He further added, “Or, unfortunately, some of these people are gonna have a heart problem and die from what they’re doing, and then people are gonna realize, ‘Wait, we shouldn’t have this anymore. This is bad. So, we’ll see. But, yeah, definitely, people are becoming more vocal about the change because they have to, which is good at least.”