Mikey Musumeci and Geo Martinez put on a show at the Road to ADCC, each displaying their leg lock prowess for most of the match before Musumeci got the points needed to claim victory. After the match, though, Musumeci shared some strong words for his opponent in an interview, calling him out for behavior that Musumeci deemed “low-class” and “ridiculous.”
After some wrestling on the feet in the first minute, Martinez scored a trip that brought Musumeci down to the ground. Musumeci locked onto an armbar that seemed like it would end the match early, but Martinez was somehow able to stand up and pull his limb out of the submission. Musumeci quickly transitioned to a leg attack, and Martinez countered with a leg attack of his own. Musumeci was initially focused on defending, but went back on the attack with an inside heel hook. The competitors engaged in a leg lock shootout, with Martinez focusing his efforts on a toehold. They both disengaged and reentangled themselves, with Musumeci relentlessly hunting Martinez’s legs and Martinez being forced to roll out of danger.
Under thirteen minutes left, and Martinez came on top to try to pass. He eventually sat back for a heel hook attempt, which Musumeci defended, and the clock moved past the ten-minute mark, making points applicable. Martinez sought out another toehold that Musumeci escaped without much fuss. The athletes went back to dueling leg lock attempts, and Musumeci locked on a tight heel hook that Martinez managed to roll out of. They contined to battle back and forth, Musumeci attempting a straight ankle lock as the clock wound down to five minutes, until Martinez broke free and stepped away from Musumeci’s guard.
Musumeci latched onto a leg again and used it to pull himself up to back control with one hook in as Martinez turtled up. Even as Musumeci rolled them over, Martinez was initially able to prevent Musumeci from sinking in his other hook, but Musumeci eventually got the foot through and locked on a body triangle. Martinez did his best fighting off Musumeci’s hands and trying to roll out of the position, but Musumeci held fast even as Martinez stood up. One minute remaining, and Musumeci focused all his efforts on the rear naked choke. Martinez managed to get his shoulders to the mat with about fifteen seconds to go, but he wasn’t able to escape the position, and Musumeci was ahead 6-0 when time ran out.
Mikey Musumeci was declared the winner by points.
In the post-match interview, Musumeci brought up some of the things he says Martinez said to him before and during their match, including “making fun” of him for speaking Portuguese. “I can’t believe this guy is a black belt,” said Musumeci. “I don’t care what skill you have in jiu-jitsu. You carry yourself like that, you shouldn’t be a black belt in jiu-jitsu.” Musumeci also said that Martinez was “talking crap” throughout their whole match.
Musumeci says that during the hand-raise after the match, he told Martinez, “You think I care about winning this match? I don’t care about that at all. We’re setting an example for the next generation. So, that’s ridiculous how he’s behaving.” He expressed, however, that he was a lifetime fan of Martinez and has a lot of respect for him as a jiu-jitsu competitor.
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