"I’m sick of hearing people complain about pulling guard” - Mikey Musumeci claps back at Aljamain Sterling’s comments about the state of BJJ
Aljamain Sterling competed at Fury Pro 8, a grappling event, against Kevin Dantzler a few days ago.
'Funk Master' is regarded as having some of the most dangerous Brazilian jiu-jitsu in the UFC, but he suffered a defeat in his grappling match with Dantzler. The match did not see much action, with Sterling's opponent opting to pull guard from the outset.
The former UFC champion's attempts to pass his opponent's guard were not enough in the judges eyes, as Dantzler was awarded a decision victory after almost securing an armbar during the clash.
Sterling was quick to share his thoughts on Dantzler's gameplan, and blasted his opponent for pulling guard from the start of the match,.
But, ONE Championshiop flyweight submission grappling champion, Mikey Musumeci, has responded to Aljamain Sterling. 'Darth Rigatoni' took to Instagram to share his thoughts, and said this:
"I'm so sick of hearing people complain about pulling guard and butt-scooting in jiu-jitsu. The first thing I'm gonna say is, this is sport jiu-jitsu. There is no striking in sport jiu-jitsu. Obviously in a real fight on the street, on concrete, you're not going to pull guard. But in sport jiu-jitsu the goal is to be able to submit the person as fast as you can."
He continued:
"Jiu-jitsu people suck at wrestling. Any D1 wrestler will destroy most jiu-jitsu people in wrestling... Guard pulling is trying to get to submissions, which is the goal... You don't want us to pull guard, you don't want us to butt-scoot. Fine, take us down. Where do we end up? We end up on bottom, just as if we pulled guard."
Watch the video below:
When is Aljamain Sterling returning to the octagon?
Aljamain Sterling last competed against Sean O'Malley at UFC 292 in August, 2023. The pair faced off in the main event of the card, where 'Sugar' was crowned the new bantamweight champion after knocking out Sterling in Round 1.
Prior to UFC 292, 'Funk Master' indicated that his bout against O'Malley may be his final fight at 135 pounds. The former champion has been honest about the difficulty of cutting to the bantamweight limit, and will be moving up a weight division for his next fight.
Sterling will hope to bounce back from his title defeat when he takes on featerweight contender Calvin Kattar at the much-anticipated UFC 300 card in April. In will be the second featherweight appearance on the Jamaican-born American's career, and his first in the UFC.