‘Morally And Ethically Wrong’ – Mikey Musumeci Sounds Off Against Culture Of Steroids In BJJ
Reigning ONE Flyweight Submission Grappling World Champion Mikey “Darth Rigatoni” Musumeci will soon move up three weight classes to challenge fellow American superstar Kade Ruotolo for the ONE Lightweight Submission Grappling World Title in a blockbuster matchup that has the BJJ world buzzing.
Beyond a shot at two-division gold, Musumeci is excited about the World Title showdown at ONE 168: Denver on September 6 because it represents a monumental clash between a pair of lifetime natural athletes in a sport that is too often associated with performance-enhancing drugs.
A longtime vocal critic of steroids in submission grappling, “Darth Rigatoni” recently spoke to onefc.com about why this is such an important issue not just for him, but for the future of the sport.
He believes that speaking out against steroids is his moral obligation along with his duty to dissuade other athletes from abusing PEDs. Because even though steroids are banned in ONE, they are often accepted as the norm outside of the organization.
Musumeci said:
“I’m constantly thinking how I could have a positive effect on society and how I could help people. I do feel like I’m in a very hard sport of jiu-jitsu where it’s still normalized taking drugs and steroids. Any other sport, baseball, football, soccer, any other sport, this would be ridiculous. But in our sport, ‘Oh, everyone’s on it. It doesn’t matter.’ So I feel like I’m in the position where I’m able to show, yes, there are people on steroids, but not everyone’s on it, and they’re losing to me.
“So what does that tell you guys? That mindset of ‘everyone’s on it, you can do it too’ is wrong. You’re cheating. It’s simple as that. So that’s something I really hope in my lifetime I’m able to get to support the change.”
In ONE, the use of steroids is strictly prohibited, and all athletes are subject to testing.
But elsewhere, the culture of BJJ has allowed usage to run rampant, with a number of top competitors even celebrated for their use of PEDs.
Whether steroids are against the rules or not, Musumeci views them as a form of cheating at best – and at worst, a danger to one’s physical health:
“You could say that if you’re in a certain organization that doesn’t test. Yes, in your organization, it might be legal on paper, but you’re still morally and ethically wrong. And, you’re probably f***ing up your body for a long time. So, who wants to do that?”
As a natural athlete who spent years competing against and beating steroid users, the New Jersey native feels understandably indignant.
Fired up and passionate, Musumeci wants to highlight what he views as a double standard in BJJ – one that preaches integrity but celebrates athletes who abuse steroids.
Fortunately, he feels that little by little, that mindset is changing:
“I’m just so sick of this fake culture in jiu-jitsu – it’s double standards for everything, honestly, and it’s basically like there’s so much bad in the sport with, like, kids taking drugs and steroids, and nobody says anything about it. And they’re even praising these people. That’s what makes me insane.
“I’m American, and America with our sports, like football, baseball, these certain sports, we have better values in these ways. So we could do better, us Americans, in what we’re supporting, and it’s bringing out a bad quality in people right now who are supporting jiu-jitsu.
“But I am confident long term as jiu-jitsu gets more and more money, it’s going to change, and we’re on the right path. We are. I just have to not end up in a mental hospital before then.”
Musumeci Thinks Health Ramifications Of Steroid Use Will Lead To Change
As a multiple-time World Champion who is widely regarded as one of the best American-born BJJ competitors in history, Mikey Musumeci has proven that it’s possible to succeed at the highest levels without the help of PEDs.
As a natural athlete, he says he’s healthier than ever and will be able to compete for years to come – something steroid abusers won’t enjoy:
“I think it’s crazy. I’m 28 now. Do I look 28? I look so much younger than 28. And we look at people that are 28, 29 in jiu-jitsu, and they look 30-something, you know, like 40s, and it just shows you what steroids do to your body. My body is like, 20, 21 right now. I’m very young, my body, and that’s why I have so many more years I could compete.
“I’m so healthy, young, and I have no injuries. Thank God. And I have so many more years in my career. While these people, they’re selling themselves short by just cheating and limiting their jiu-jitsu.”
According to the flyweight submission grappling king, the detrimental effects of steroids will eventually catch up to the abusers, and that’s when real, lasting change will occur.
Now just weeks away from the massive showdown between two of BJJ’s most prolific steroid-free competitors, Musumeci is confident that a shift is coming:
“With time, it’s gonna change, because what’s gonna happen is there’s gonna come a time that there will be enforced drug testing year-round once there’s enough money.
“Or, unfortunately, some of these people are gonna have a heart problem and die from what they’re doing, and then people are gonna realize, ‘Wait, we shouldn’t have this anymore. This is bad.’
“So, we’ll see. But, yeah, definitely, people are becoming more vocal about the change because they have to, which is good at least.”
