UFC BJJ bantamweight champion has decided to vacate his belt to focus on his MMA for now

UFC BJJ is experiencing a major shift with the reigning bantamweight champion vacating his belt.

Mikey Musumeci vacates his UFC BJJ Bantamweight Title

Mikey Musumeci became the inaugural  UFC BJJ Bantamweight Champion on June 25, 2025. The UFC BJJ 1 matchup against Rerisson Gabriel ended in Musumeci submitting the Brazilian via heel hook.

He has delivered an extraordinary performance in the sport for more than a decade. Now, the American is willing to step aside.

“END OF ANOTHER CHAPTER – today I would like to announce that I have decided to vacate my @ufcbjj bantamweight title,” He wrote on Instagram.

“I haven’t lost a match in this category for almost 10 years and have won every title that I had wanted to win in my career in gi and nogi. (Adcc is not my category and I have no ambition to go up weight classes for no money 🤣 so yeh) I am 30 years old and have been obsessed with training mma and want to prioritize my training for mma!”

While he will be looking forward to prioritising his MMA training, he won’t be abandoning Jiu Jitsu either.

“I train Jiu Jitsu everyday still and can come back anytime 🥸… I will continue to do more grappling super fights with @ufcbjj just a different style of Jiu Jitsu more to get people out of our sport to watch! That means more to me at the point I am in my career.”

Earlier in September, he had hinted at his career in MMA during his appearance on “The Ariel Helwani Show”.

He said, “I’m loving the MMA training. I’m addicted to it. I want to see how far I can go”. Therefore, fans are definitely eager to see how his journey unfolds.

Mikey Musumeci’s teammate will be competing for Title

In the meantime, the belt is set to be competed for again. Within only a few hours of Musumeci’s announcement becoming public, UFC has decided to move forward with his division.

Jalen Fonacier, Musumeci’s teammate, will be fighting for the now vacant title. The 21-year-old grappler will face Kleber Barboza, who will make his debut in an immediate title shot.