“It’s cheating to take steroids” - Mikey Musumeci blasts rampant PED use in jiu-jitsu
Reigning and undisputed ONE flyweight submission grappling world champion 'Darth Rigatoni' Mikey Musumeci of the United States is one of the cleanest athletes in the world.
The 27-year-old takes pride in getting his strength primarily from his main diet of pizza and pasta. Which is why when the topic shifts over to the rampant PEDs (Performance Enhancing Drugs) use in jiu-jitsu, Musumeci understandably gets heated.
He told Ariel Helwani in a recent guest appearance on The MMA Hour:
"Why don't I take them? Because they're not healthy for you, and they're so dangerous for your body. There's so many people that have health problems from steroids that are long term. I grew up with a lot of coaches that were on a lot of steroids, and they're all bipolar and nuts now. It fucks up your brain. So growing up in this environment, of all these ex-steroid users, it made me instantly never want to do it. And also the moral compass of cheating, it's cheating to take steroids."
Jiu-jitsu, is juvenile as a competitive sport in the sense that drug testing has not been widely adopted. Only ONE Championship, where Musumeci reigns as the flyweight submission grappling king, drug tests its jiu-jitsu athletes to make sure there's always an even playing field.
Luckily for Musumeci, he will have nothing to worry about with his next opponent as far as PEDs are concerned.
'Darth Rigatoni' Mikey Musumeci gunning for Kade Ruotolo's lightweight gold at ONE 168: Denver
Flyweight submission grappling world titleholder 'Darth Rigatoni' Mikey Musumeci is looking at becoming a rare two-division world champion. He is set to lock horns with fellow American Kade Ruotolo for the ONE lightweight submission grappling world championship.
The two throw down at ONE 168: Denver, in ONE Championship's return to United States soil. The event broadcasts live from the Ball Arena in Denver, Colorado on Friday, September 6th.
Fans in the United States and Canada can catch all the action live and absolutely free on Amazon Prime Video.