While preparing for separate bouts at the UFC Performance Institute, Mikey Musumeci and Umar Nurmagomedovfound themselves sharing the mats.
Musumeci is best known for his guard-heavy, submission-focused style in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, often sitting to the mat to force quick finishes.
Nurmagomedov, by contrast, applies relentless wrestling pressure and positional control to dominate opponents in MMA.
Reflecting on the experience, Musumeci spoke about Nurmagomedov’s ability on the ground:
I love Umar. Honestly, out of all the MMA Jiu-Jitsu people I’ve trained with, he’s probably the best guy.
Like he could beat a lot of the Jiu-Jitsu people I compete with. I was super impressed with him.
Nurmagomedov was nearing the end of his camp for Deiveson Figueiredo at the time, while Musumeci was just beginning preparations for his upcoming UFC BJJ title defense against Shay Montague.
Even so, the technical exchange was enough to leave a lasting impact:
I love training with him, and I’ll probably go to Dagestan later in the year to train more with those guys and learn more wrestling and that style.
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