‘He didn’t want to fight me’ – Mikey Musumeci details efforts to face Diogo ‘Baby Shark’ Reis
Reigning UFC BJJ bantamweight champion Mikey Musumeci spoke about his efforts to face Diogo “Baby Shark” Reis.
Mikey Musumeci will soon defend his UFC BJJ bantamweight crown against Keven Carrasco at UFC BJJ 3 on October 2. While the decorated 29-year-old certainly isn’t looking past his clash with Carrasco, Musumeci admits that there’s still one opponent he’s dying to face – reigning two-time ADCC world champion Diogo “Baby Shark” Reis.
Musumeci recently spoke to Grappling Insider about his upcoming title defense, a potential future match with “Baby Shark,” his views on the ever-evolving landscape of professional grappling, and more.
Watch the full interview below.
When asked if he could face any opponent in the world, regardless of organization or weight class, Musumeci didn’t hesitate in pointing to “Baby Shark”:
“That’s the only guy that gives me that fire to fight someone. Everyone else, I really don’t feel that, so it’s more about me just making this platform and keeping it growing. That’s my mindset right now. If I’m allowed to fight who I want – Baby Shark. That’s the guy that I would love to compete with.”
As much as he’d like to compete against “Baby Shark,” Musumeci realizes that the matchup is unlikely to happen anytime soon. Musumeci is signed to compete exclusively with UFC BJJ, while “Baby Shark” is exclusive to ONE Championship.
However, Musumeci is a former ONE submission grappling world champion, and he said that while both men were signed to the same organization, “Baby Shark” refused to accept a match:
“He was exclusive to ONE when I was there, but he didn’t want to fight me when I was at ONE. He only did Who’s Number One twice when I was signed to ONE. But then the second I go to UFC, he’s like, ‘Hey I can’t do it, I’m exclusive to ONE.’ Which is weird, but whatever. I tried to fight him six, seven times last year. Every other month, I tried to have a match with him. I don’t think anyone has ever requested to have a match with someone that many times in a year. So it sucks.”
Ultimately, Musumeci remains motivated to face “Baby Shark – and still has a healthy amount of respect for him as an athlete:
“I think he’s an incredible opponent, and that’s what makes me want to compete with him. I have respect for him as a competitor, that’s why I get a fire thinking about competing with him. I don’t get that fire with anyone else, just him. So that’s a compliment to ‘Baby Shark’… One of us is actually trying to make the match happen, while the other will go online and say they want to fight me, but then every time they get offered, they say no.”
How to watch: Mikey Musumeci vs. Keven Carrasco takes place on Thursday, October 2, 2025, at UFC BJJ 3, and will air live on the UFC’s YouTube channel beginning at 8:00 PM ET.
