Two-time ADCC world champion Diogo “Baby Shark” Reis has broken his silence on the ongoing dispute with Mikey Musumeci – clarifying what really happened behind the scenes when their much-anticipated match failed to materialize.

In a recent interview with VF Comunica, the 23-year-old Brazilian star addressed Musumeci’s repeated claims that he had “ducked” multiple match offers:

When I signed with ONE Championship, I was supposed to face Musumeci.
I had already signed to grapple Mikey. And then I got injured against Pato.

The injury, sustained during competition, forced Reis into a difficult choice: undergo surgery or pursue a lengthy rehabilitation process.

He chose the latter:

It was six months of physical therapy, a lot of work.
I had to gain more muscle mass to get stronger and support my knee.

Musumeci continued to claim in interviews that Reis rejected the matchup “six or seven times”, an accusation Reis finds misleading:

Mikey does several interviews saying that I didn’t accept, didn’t accept, didn’t accept.

But I was in recovery.
I had two ADCC matches that were just tests to see if I could perform.

In addition to recovering from his knee injury, Reis faced a challenging cut to 61 kilograms while trying to maintain his strength and protect his leg.

He also revealed that the timing didn’t align well with his priorities– defending his ADCC title in 2024:

I focused solely on ADCC to defend my title.
I wanted to prove that if I win one, I can win two too.

Despite the misunderstanding, Reis holds no animosity toward Musumeci and sees the rivalry as good for the sport:

I think it’s cool – I think it’s good even for the sport.
It’s been a while since we’ve seen a match like this at lightweight that everyone wanted to see.

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