Mikey Musumeci He knows how to fight elite when he feels it.
UFC BJJ Bantamweight Champion Returns to Action Against Current IBJJF Champion shay montague in the main event of UFC BJJ 5 this Thursday (Feb. 12, 2026) inside the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada. Ahead of the matchup, Musumeci spoke to MMAmania.com and was asked a simple question: which active mixed martial artist you’ve worked with has the best pure grappling?
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His response came quickly: Umar Nurmagomedov.
“I am not going to count the jiu-jitsu world champions, because it would say Gilberto Burns“Musumeci said. “He’s my coach and the guy who gave me my black belt, but that doesn’t count. I would say Umar was very good. I’ve said this before, of course, his game is MMA and taking hits and all that, so it’s a little different, but he has very good jiu-jitsu. “I was very impressed with him.”
Burns receiving praise is nothing new. A few years ago, BJJ champion Nicky Rod He also named Burns among the best MMA fighters. Still, the fact that Nurmagomedov earned that distinction carries weight, given his experience in the Dagestan heavy wrestling system, and the fact that he considers himself a striker.
Musumeci spoke with Nurmagomedov before their fight at UFC 324 and did not hold back his admiration.
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“I love Umar,” Musumeci said. “Honestly, of all the MMA jiu-jitsu guys I’ve trained with, he’s probably the best. He could beat a lot of the jiu-jitsu guys I compete against. I was very impressed with him. I love training with him, and I’ll probably go to Dagestan later this year to train more with those guys and learn more wrestling and that style.”
Nurmagomedov is coming off a boring unanimous decision victory Deiveson Figueiredo and appears to be getting closer to another shot at the UFC bantamweight title.