Mikey Musumeci came close on several submissions but the UFC BJJ champion was unable to put Bryce Mitchell away in their three round main event on Thursday night in Las Vegas.
The crossover match was set up as Musumeci has started to make his transition to a full-time MMA fighter and he showed off his skills without using any leg locks, which is one of his signature moves. Mitchell defended effectively over three rounds and despite not getting the finish, Musumeci had the time of his life.
“It was fun,” Musumechi said after the match. “I like that. I’m training MMA now so I like that. I want more MMA grappling opponents. I would prefer to do this style of grappling. It was way more fun for me.”
It took Musumeci just a moment to pull guard and he started pulling for leg locks, which got a few boos from the crowd after the competitors agreed on no leg locks. Musumeci did release the early hold. Musumeci again grabbed onto the leg as he went for the sweep and he quickly transitioned to an anaconda choke and then a power guillotine choke.
To his credit, Mitchell did a good job resisting the submission and eventually breaking free from the submission attempt.
On the restart in round two, Mitchell was able to get on top with Musumeci looking for an omo plata from the bottom. Musumeci stayed on his back trying to grab onto the arm or the head but Mitchell defended effectively as the match moved into the third and final round.
With Musumeci in guard, Mitchell was grinding his forehead into his opponent and then out of nowhere, the UFC bantamweight executed a huge slam that earned him a warning from referee Vitor Ribeiro.
This time, Musumeci executed a slick takedown of his own as he tried to set up a submission after taking the back. Musumeci had Mitchell in trouble after grabbing an arm but “Thug Nasty” stayed calm and composed to avoid the submission.
Mitchell bull rushed forward with another takedown before the match ended but to his credit, the UFC bantamweight held his own against one of the top grapplers in the world. Afterwards, Mitchell admitted he’d have to use punches to escape many of Musumeci’s best moves but they stuck to their agreement for the fight that ultimately lasted all 15 minutes.
There’s no word yet when Musumeci might actually take his first MMA fight now that he’s training full time at Syndicate MMA in Las Vegas but Thursday’s match proved that “Darth Rigatoni” is that much closer to his first official fight.
UFC BJJ 11 results:
Mikey Musumeci def. Bryce Mitchell via unanimous decision
Mason Fowler vs. Nick Rodriguez — split draw after three rounds.
Aurelie Le Vern def. Rana Willink via unanimous decision
Jay Rodriguez def.. Kevin Behring via inverted D’arce choke, R2
Pedro Machado def. Lucas Norat via unanimous decision
Jordan Holy def. Ryan Elgarico via unanimous decision
Mason Stritzel def. Sebastian Zazueta via inside heel hook, R2
Daniel Deeder def. Kolby Gonzalez via kimura, R3
