Mikey Musumeci is one of the top BJJ competitors in the world and he made his name by putting on several incredible runs at the IBJJF World Championship, where he has won four titles in a row across two weight classes. Despite being a prolific competitor there for several years, Musumeci has not stepped back on the mats at that event since his last world title in 2021. Instead he has been focusing heavily on taking his no gi game to the highest level imaginable, and he has gone on to become the inaugural flyweight ONE Championship submission grappling world champion.
The most recent edition of the IBJJF World Championship marked three years since Musumeci last competed at the world’s most prestigious gi grappling event, and it still seems strange to see the roosterweight and light-featherweight divisions without him involved. Naturally fans around the world have been wondering whether he would ever make a return to the IBJJF World Championship, and the question arose in a recent Q&A that Musumeci hosted on his official Instagram account. Musumeci was pretty direct in his answer and now it seems clear that fans will not get the chance to see him put on the gi again any time soon:
“Unfortunately there’s no money in the gi, and I already won everything I wanted to. I have no interest in the same medal again. I must admit I have gotten significantly better in the gi only training no gi but unfortunately until there’s no motives for me at this time to come back home. Gi is definitely in my heart forever though!”
He’s not wrong either, Mikey Musumeci has won an IBJJF European Championship and an IBJJF Pan Championship alongside his four IBJJF World Championship gold medals. The only major gi event missing from his resume is the IBJJF Brazilian National Championship and as he said, there isn’t money to be made by winning that now. The career of any professional athlete is short of course so prioritising money is always the sensible choice, and Musumeci gets paid handsomely as the ONE flyweight champion. Not only does he get paid to compete, but he’s also regularly in line for a $50,000 Performance of the Night bonus thanks to his exciting style.
As far as money goes, Musumeci is pretty much set for the best career that a BJJ competitor can hope for just by sticking with ONE Championship. He did recently attempt to compete at the inaugural Craig Jones Invitational too, but that event was backed by a $3 million funding and no doubt they could afford to pay him a great wage. That match unfortunately fell through, so now it looks like he will be back to competing on the ONE Championship stage for the foreseeable future. In fact, Musumeci already has his next epic superfight lined up and he will attempt to become a two-weight champion when he faces Kade Ruotolo at ONE 168 on September 6th, 2024.
