Meet the Jiu-Jitsu Star at the Center of UFC’s Plan to Take Over Pro Grappling

Musumeci (left) is expected to be the face of the UFC’s push into the world of grappling. | Courtesy UFC

Mikey “Darth Rigatoni” Musumeci will make his UFC Fight Pass Invitational debut at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on Thursday. After turning the UFC into the premier mixed martial arts organization in the world, Dana White has gone all-in on the lesser-known world of professional grappling and jiu-jitsu, signing Musumeci, the face of the sport, to an exclusive deal in November.

The bespectacled, soft-spoken 28-year-old from New Jersey is an elder statesman in jiu-jitsu, training for more than two decades. “I started Muay Thai and jiu-jitsu when I was 4 years old in New Jersey and I just never stopped,” Musumeci says. “I’m really old in jiu-jitsu years, like dog years.”