Mikey Musumeci says one of his biggest concerns about Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu has nothing to do with competition – it’s the safety of women entering the sport.

Speaking on the Overdogs BJJ Podcast alongside Hector Vasquez and rising star Helena Crevar, the UFC BJJ champion opened up about the issue of predatory behavior in gyms and admitted it has changed the way he thinks about the future.

The conversation began after Vasquez noted that even well-run academies aren’t immune to inappropriate behavior, referencing a past situation involving Izaak Michell.

That led Musumeci to share a concern he says has become deeply personal:

I fear one day when I have a daughter her training Jiu-Jitsu. I think it’s scary.
It’s a very out of control feeling that there’s so many horrible predators in this sport.

Musumeci explained that the problem is particularly difficult for beginners, who often have no way of knowing whether they’re joining a healthy gym environment:

They go to a random gym. They don’t know what gym they’re going to. They don’t know if the instructor is a nice person.

He also pointed out that predatory behavior isn’t always obvious, as it can initially appear to be nothing more than friendly coaching or extra attention::

Like how do we navigate this? Do women first start training with women? Is that a little safer for them?
Or do they just train with guys and then the guy’s overly nice and say: “Oh, good roll today.”

They text a girl that after and then they’re overly trying to help them with technique like and oh, they’re definitely doing this with everyone in the gym.

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