Mikey Musumeci announces move to represent ‘Cobrinha’

Top BJJ competitor and current ONE world champion Mikey Musumeci announced he will train under Rubens “Cobrinha” Charles.

After spending the past few years acting as his own coach, Mikey Musumeci has announced that he will now train under and represent legendary BJJ competitor turned coach Rubens “Cobrinha” Charles.

Musumeci posted about the move on Instagram.

I would like to announce i will represent and be under professor @cobrinhacharles !!! Drove 5 hours straight into rolling 4 hours with him. We all as humans are gifted with what we like and are passionate about from God, and God gave me the gift and passion of jiu jitsu. When we have something in our heart we have to go with it wherever it takes us. I was just a kid with a passion for jiu jitsu and look where that took me!!! Living in Asia and training in La with my idol!! I grew up studying online and learning so many years from cobrinha, by far the most knowledgeable person I have had the opportunity to train and learn under!! But also the most passionate!! We both love jiu jitsu!!! What I have feared the most in my life is not reaching the potential I have with this gift, running away from what we are passionate about. My favorite thing about competing isn’t titles or medals, it’s learning, it’s improving to have the best jiu jitsu I can have. A lot of my career in jiu jitsu I was always my own coach having to figure everything out training, positions; etc on my own. I have been training 23 years and I never had someone invest their time and energy the way @cobrinhacharles has. We just rolled 4 hours straight, constantly adjusting and fixing mistakes and adding new things into my game. I have improved already insane amounts from @cobrinhacharles helping me. I am again so blessed all the opportunities God and the universe have brought to me. I want to show everyone including myself my potential in jiu jitsu, and now I have the opportunity to do that!!! Let’s do it!!!! We will be be ready for all challenges ahead ! God bless everyone 😭😭❤️

Considered by many to be the greatest-ever American-born BJJ competitor, Musumeci is a five-time IBJJF world champion, a former Who’s Number One champion, and the current ONE flyweight submission grappling world champion. He has lost just five times since receiving his black belt in 2015 and is currently riding a winning streak that dates back to 2021.

The 27-year-old has competed exclusively for ONE Championship since joining the organization in 2022. He holds ONE victories over IBJJF Pans champion Cleber Sousa, IBJJF no-gi world champion Osamah Almarwai, current ONE strawweight MMA world champion Jarred Brooks, and former ONE lightweight MMA world champion Shinya Aoki.

Those victories, coupled with his impressive body of work prior to joining ONE, has the New Jersey native consistently ranked among the planet’s top pound-for-pound grapplers.

Musumeci has trained under a variety of coaches and represented several teams over the course of his competitive career, including Caio Terra, the Mendes brothers of Art of Jiu-Jitsu, and Heath Pedigo.

“Cobrinha” is one of the most respected names in jiu-jitsu, as well as one of the sport’s most accomplished competitors. He is a five-time IBJJF gi world champion, a four-time IBJJF no-gi world champion, and a three-time ADCC world champion. He has not competed since 2017, choosing to focus his energy on building his Los Angeles-based academy and growing affiliation.

Ben Coate

Ben has been involved with grappling, whether through wrestling or Brazilian jiu-jitsu, essentially his entire life. After wrestling throughout his childhood, Ben found Brazilian jiu-jitsu as a young adult and quickly fell in love. He has been training for over ten years and holds the rank of black belt, and remains involved in both the MMA and BJJ scene. Ben has been writing about combat sports since 2017. He has interviewed and profiled some of MMA's biggest stars, including multiple UFC champions.

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