Mikey “Darth Rigatoni” Musumeci

Mikey Musumeci is arguably the best American-born Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioner in history.

Born into an Italian-American family in 1996, Musumeci started practicing BJJ at age 4 and never looked back. Throughout his childhood, the young prodigy would spend hours before and after school training and drilling jiu-jitsu techniques, typically alongside his sister Tammi, who would become a multiple-time BJJ World Champion herself.

From an early age, Musumeci performed well in competition. After winning numerous IBJJF World Championships at the juvenile and colored belt ranks, he was awarded his black belt at the age of 18.

When he started competing at the highest level of the sport, he quickly found success, winning the first of his five IBJJF Black Belt World Titles in 2016. Three years later, the Italian-American made history with the fastest-ever submission in the final of an IBJJF World Championship when he tapped out his opponent with his trademark straight ankle lock in just 12 seconds.

No longer just a youngster with loads of potential, Musumeci had arrived as an elite, world-class grappler, and soon, he would bring his skills to the world’s largest martial arts organization.

Musumeci made his promotional debut with ONE Championship in 2022, submitting Japanese MMA and grappling legend Masakazu Imanari with a rear-naked choke. That performance earned the American a US$50,000 bonus.

The Italian-American might not look and act like a typical BJJ World Champion. A pasta and pizza fanatic, Musumeci is fondly known as “Darth Rigatoni.” Off of the mats, he is unassuming – merely a glasses-wearing, self-described “nerd” who seemingly always has a smile on his face. But on the mats, “Darth Rigatoni” might be the most technically sound grappler on the planet.

Musumeci tends to do his best work attacking from his guard where he uses a dizzying array of advanced techniques, such as the berimbolo back-take to keep his opponents on the defensive. Moreover, he has been responsible for a number of technical innovations in jiu-jitsu such as the “Mikey lock” leg lock.