UFC BJJ Bantamweight champion Mikey Musumeci has built his career around mangling legs, collecting heel hooks and turning the lower half of the human body into a complicated puzzle only he knows how to solve.<\/p>\n
Unfortunately, none of that will be allowed when \u201cDarth Rigatoni\u201d moves up to Featherweight to face Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) contender<\/a> Bryce Mitchell in UFC BJJ 11\u2019s main event<\/a> later tonight (Thurs., Sept. 24, 2026) inside Meta Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada.<\/p>\n That\u2019s because Mitchell previously labeled leg locks, pulling guard and \u201cbutt-scooting\u201d as \u201cgay,\u201d arguing that those grappling tactics would be useless in a real-life self-defense situation. \u201cThug Nasty\u201d also made it abundantly clear that he does not enjoy touching another man\u2019s feet.<\/p>\n Mitchell\u2019s rant eventually led to him challenging Musumeci<\/a>, claiming he could defeat the decorated Brazilian jiu-jitsu champion under his own rules. Musumeci accepted, but also playfully agreed to remove the exact techniques Mitchell hates from their match.<\/p>\n Therefore, the two men have a gentlemen\u2019s agreement: no leg locks and no intentionally pulling guard. If Musumeci happens to get taken down or lands on bottom during a scramble, however, he will be permitted to use his guard.<\/p>\n To prepare himself for Mitchell\u2019s preferred version of \u201cheterosexual\u201d jiu-jitsu, Musumeci employed some fairly unorthodox \u2014 and possibly concerning \u2014 training methods.<\/p>\n \u201cLeg locks are gay \u2014 guard pulls; if you\u2019re butt-scooting, that\u2019s gay,\u201d Musumeci joked during UFC BJJ 11 media day. \u201cBut if you end up on the bottom by chance, you have to go there. You just have to, unfortunately.<\/p>\n \u201cI had a good camp for this,\u201d Musumeci continued. \u201cI was getting zapped with a dog collar every day from the Tackett brothers if I ended up on bottom. They put a dog collar on me, and whenever I fell, they would press the button. So, whenever I see the floor, I see myself getting zapped, and psychologically, that does something to your brain.\u201d<\/p>\n As if electrocuting one of the best grapplers on the planet wasn\u2019t strange enough, Musumeci also underwent a little spiritual cleansing every time his back touched the mat.<\/p>\n \u201cThe dog collar was part of my camp, as was throwing holy water on me whenever I ended up on bottom to get the devil out of me,\u201d Musumeci said. \u201cSo, we did some interesting methods this camp, and we\u2019ve come to a great place. I feel really prepared from a spiritual and psychological standpoint.\u201d<\/p>\n Musumeci is undefeated (4-0) inside UFC BJJ\u2019s bowl, submitting all four of his opponents with three heel hooks<\/a> and one foot lock. His Bantamweight championship will not be at stake because tonight\u2019s crossover spectacle takes place one division higher.<\/p>\n Mitchell, meanwhile, is certainly no slouch on the ground. The UFC veteran has scored 10 submissions across his 19 professional mixed martial arts victories and recently submitted Santiago Luna with an arm-triangle choke (watch highlights<\/a>). However, he was also submitted by heel hook during his appearance<\/a> at Eddie Bravo Invitational (EBI) 25 last year \u2014 another reason removing leg locks tonight might be helpful.<\/p>\n Musumeci will now have to defeat Mitchell without his most dangerous weapons, without voluntarily accepting bottom position and with the lingering psychological threat of an imaginary dog collar wrapped around his neck.<\/p>\n Perfectly normal grappling stuff.<\/p>\n For complete UFC BJJ 11 results, coverage, and highlights click HERE<\/a>.<\/p>\n