Mikey Musumeci becomes first UFC BJJ Bantamweight champion

Mikey Musumeci left One Championship as the face of their grappling and after signing with the UFC as a free agent it now appears he is set to be the face of the UFC grappling.   Musumeci took the inaugural UFC BJJ Bantamweight championship belt with a heel hook submission over Rerrison Gabriel at UFC BJJ 1.

Musumeci who is known for his leg lock attacks went straight to the legs going after multiple attacks including several heel hooks as Gabriel did his best to fight out of submissions.  During the third round Musumeci was able to lock in the heel hook with no way to escape other than tapping giving him the Bjj submission victory.

Andrew Tackett who competed CJI went on to win the Welterweight belt defeating Any Varela with a rear neck choke and Carlos Henrique defeated Danilo Moreira by armor to take home the lightweight belt.  Other victors on the night included Keith Krikorian, Cassia Moura, Pedro Machado, Bella Mir, and Keven Carrasco,  Of the 9 BJJ matches only 1 of them went to a decision.

What do you think of the UFC BJJ concept? Did you like the matches inside of a ‘grapplers bowl’ instead of a traditional wrestling mat setup? Do you think Gordon Ryan and Nicky Rod could be coaches for the 2nd UFC BJJ season? Mikey Musumeci was cornered by Cobrinha who in 2020 promoted PFL Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Black Belt.