Mikey Musumeci wants to represent jiu-jitsu as a nice guy

American submission grappler Mikey Musumeci is proving to be a role model in every sense of the term — talented, respectful, dedicated, and of course, nice.

The ONE Championship competitor hopes to represent the entire sport of Brazilian jiu-jitsu as a nice guy. He said in an interview with Fightlore:

"The way I like to give back to the community is showing people, like a different audience, can also do jiu-jitsu, you know? When some people think of combat sports, they think of these tough, arrogant kind of people, you know?"

Mikey Musumeci added, saying:

"And I’m really not like that. I feel like I can show others that they can do it as well. And that will get people to do jiu-jitsu."

ONE's flyweight submission grappling champion is a perfect 2-0 inside the circle, with victories over Masakazu Imanari and Cleber Sousa.

Musumeci, along with fellow grapplers like Danielle Kelly and the Ruotolo brothers, is bringing much-deserved attention to the sport of submission grappling.

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Mikey Musumeci has coached himself over the years

The New Jersey native is currently getting his training done at Evolve MMA in Singapore, but he hasn't always received instructions from world-class instructors.

In fact, the 26-year-old spent much of his early days teaching himself through videos on the internet. He told Fightlore:

"I’ve trained with many great instructors because I lived in so many different places and I’m grateful for everyone that’s helped me. But I’ve kind of had the mindset since I was 14, 15 years old as my own coach, you know? I was always just pushing myself in training."

Musumeci continued, adding:

"I was just studying so many things, different videos on the computer. And I had my sister as well, and me and her would just train in the garage with each other every day. That definitely pushed me to evolve."

It's incredible that a five-time IBJJF black belt world champion can reach those heights by teaching himself for several years early on in his career.

Be sure to tune in to ONE Fight Night 6 on Prime Video to watch Mikey Musumeci look to defend his belt against Mongolia's Bayanduuren Gantumur.

Watch Mikey Musumeci's full conversation with Fightlore below: