“I’m just so sick of this fake culture” - Mikey Musumeci blasts rampant steroid abuse in Brazilian jiu-jitsu
Mikey Musumeci has had enough of the toxic culture that plagued the world of grappling. Since the start, 'Darth Rigatoni' has never been afraid of addressing the biggest grey area in the discipline: the use of performance-enhancing drugs, or PEDs.
That fact has yet to be addressed thoroughly, even after the sports turned into the mainstream, and as a natural athlete who competed and beat steroid users, he felt indignant.
Musumeci spoke to ONE Championship ahead of his ONE lightweight submission grappling world title challenge against the belt holder Kade Ruotolo at ONE 168: Denver on September 6 about what he sees as a double standard in BJJ.
That standard is one that preaches integrity but lauds athletes who abuse steroids, but he slowly sees some changes as it moves forward.
He said:
“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."
And, as ONE Championship continues to champion the fight to eliminate PEDs in 'the gentle art,' the grappling phenom will also continue to be one of the most vocal supporters of this movement.
Mikey Musumeci calls out the 'cheaters' in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
Mikey Musumeci believes there's no reason for doping to be accepted in any kind of sport.
The ONE flyweight submission grappling world champion, who has been a natural athlete from the start, calls out those who had thought differently in the same interview. He said:
"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."
Interestingly, his next opponent would be another prominent ambassador in the battle against steroids.
At ONE 168: Denver, Mikey Musumeci will challenge the ONE lightweight submission grappling king Kade Ruotolo for his belt in the co-main event of the stacked U.S. card on Sept. 6.
Tickets for ONE 168 are still available via Ticketmaster.