News has just emerged that the UFC is planning on doing a brand new grappling show featuring both Gordon Ryan and Mikey Musumeci. It hasn’t come from any official announcement that the promotion has made and instead, it was actually leaked in passing by Kade Ruotolo in a recent interview. Although he might seem like an unusual source, he wouldn’t have any reason to make this up and it actually falls in line with several other bits of information that have emerged recently. The situation seems to be evolving pretty quickly, but we discovered late last year that the UFC was building a brand new grappling league.
The promotion had already done great work with UFC Fight Pass Invitational and it wasn’t clear whether this new format would replace it or run alongside it. Concrete information was thin on the ground but several elite competitors were willing to confirm anonymously that they had been approached or actually agreed terms. Then Musumeci announced that he was signing an exclusive deal with the UFC and all of a sudden, there was official confirmation that something bug was in the works. It didn’t take long for UFC president Dana White to announce that a submission grappling reality show was planned, the biggest confirmation yet.
The bombshell that Kade Ruotolo dropped about Gordon Ryan and Mikey Musumeci being involved with the new UFC project makes a lot more sende:
“Right now I think (Gordon Ryan)’s doing something with Mikey Musumeci. (They) are possibly going to do some sort of Ultimate Fighter type thing for Jiu-Jitsu possibly, I believe…”
Obviously the two men are several weight classes apart so a match between them is incredibly unlikely, but operating as coaches on opposing teams for something similar to The Ultimate Fighter is definitely doable. Not only would their involvement be huge, but it will likely generate some memorable moments thanks to their past with one another. The two men have traded shots on several topics publicly and although their issues appear to be settled now, being in close proximity on a reality show often leads to feuds like that bubbling to the surface. With UFC Fight Pass Invitational 10 just weeks away, fans will be eagerly waiting to hear if there’s anything official announced for the project.
The full interview with Kade Ruotolo where he reveals the plans for a UFC grappling show with Gordon Ryan and Mikey Musumeci was uploaded to the official YouTube channel of MMAFighting:
