“That’s why I love guys like Mikey Musumeci. He’s a fascinating fellow. I had him on the podcast, and he’s like the smiliest assassin.” Joe Rogan couldn’t help but praise Mikey Musumeci during last year’s JRE podcast. Now, the UFC color commentator might become an even bigger fan, as ‘Darth Rigatoni’ has officially become the face of UFC BJJ after winning the inaugural UBBJ 135 lbs title.
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Since becoming the champ, Musumeci has been on a bit of a star ride. A few weeks ago, he traveled to Japan, but his trip to the Land of the Rising Sun didn’t grab nearly as much attention as his alleged visit to North Korea. The 28-year-old BJJ star uploaded a photo on Instagram where he’s seen sharing the frame with none other than North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, sparking massive speculation about whether the image was real or just an AI-generated prank.
He captioned the post, “What an insane day today in Pyongyang. Was insane meeting the Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un. So amazing how Jiu-Jitsu connects us all. Shoutout to @hidavid for arranging this meeting!” While everyone was busy playing the guessing game, Musumeci had already planned to share the full story with the world.
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During an Instagram Q&A session, Mikey was asked if he’d do a Volume 2 podcast with Joe Rogan. Musumeci responded via his Instagram Story, tagging Rogan and writing, “@joerogan it would be so much fun.” The last time these two shared a seat was on the JRE MMA Show #127, where they dove into all things BJJ and diet. So, a second round, where we might finally learn the truth behind that viral photo, could be a fun ride.
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MMA: UFC 274-Cortez vs Gatto, May 7, 2022; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; UFC host Joe Rogan during UFC 274 at Footprint Center.
However, as one of the best grapplers in the game right now, Musumeci was expected to share the mat with Australia’s finest, Craig Jones. The two were rumored to square off under the UFC banner, but the highly anticipated matchup never materialized. So, let’s dive into what happened there.
Mikey Musumeci reveals why the Craig Jones matchup fell through
Other than Mikey, there are two names currently dominating the BJJ scene–Craig Jones and Gordon Ryan. So, it was only natural to expect Musumeci to eventually cross paths with them, especially under the UFC banner, given the promotion’s growing push into grappling. But, the Jersey native revealed that the fight never materialized because Jones, who doesn’t have a good relationship with the promotion anyway, couldn’t come to terms with the UFC on the contract.
‘Darth Rigatoni’ reveled at the Mighty Cast podcast, “Craig and I, we were supposed to do ultimate fighting together, and we were going to fight each other at the end. Then he didn’t get the deal he wanted or whatever from the UFC. And then he went with Flo. But it was just a business thing for him. He went with where he made the most money.”
Well, it would’ve been one of the biggest spectacles for UFC BJJ. After all, both Musumeci and Jones are among the most well-known grapplers of the modern era. Jones already has strong ties to MMA, having trained big names like Alexander Volkanovski and Jack Della Maddalena, so he’s no stranger to the UFC audience. And Musumeci has built quite a following of his own. So yeah, that matchup definitely would’ve turned heads.
With that being said, would you be interested in seeing Mikey Musumeci’s next fight? And be honest, do you actually think that photo with Kim Jong Un was real? Drop your thoughts in the comments below!
Written by
Edited by
Siddharth Shirwadkar