On Saturday, July 17th, Mikey “Golden Boy” Musumeci makes his debut under an ADCC ruleset against Geo “Freakazoid” Martinez.
Musumeci is the number-one ranked 135-pound grappler in the world and the first American to become a four-time black belt world champion. Martinez is the number-one ranked 145-pound grappler in the world and a five-time EBI champion at two different weight classes.
On July 17th, at FloGrappling’s Road To ADCC, the two competitors clash. Can Martinez vanquish Musumeci? Or will he fall prey to the golden boy’s prowess?
Mikey Musumeci
- Record: 47-4-0
- Height: 5’7” | Weight: 141.5 | Age: 24
- Wins: 20 SUB, 4 decisions, 15 points, 8 Advantages, Losses: 1 SUB, 1 decision, 2 advantage
- Noticeable Wins: Lucas Pinheiro, Bruno Malfacine, Joao Miyao,
- Noticeable Losses: Mahamed Aly
- Current Ranking: #1 Bantamweight | Last match: Junny Ocasio
Fighter’s Weaknesses:
Mikey Musumeci does not have significant flaws. He’s been winning world titles since he was a kid and is well-rounded. That said, he has mainly competed in the IBJJF gi circuit. He’s used to competing under an IBJJF gi ruleset against a specific type of competitor. Although Musumeci beat his last opponent, Junny Ocasio, his weaknesses became transparent during their match. His main weakness will continue to be overcoming the ruleset, the match conditions, and the style of play. Musumeci’s “IBJJF” mindset is ill-equipped for this ruleset until he gains more experience.
Additionally, Geo Martinez is a 3x ADCC veteran who poses a different threat than Junny Ocasio. Ocasio was extremely one-dimensional during their match, only focusing on submitting Musimeci via leg lock. Martinez will not emulate Junny Ocasio’s game. The former is more well-rounded and has much more experience under an ADCC ruleset.
Fighter’s Strengths:
Although Musumeci’s last three matches have shown his prowess, his main strengths are his open guard, berimbolos, and Crab rides.
If you watch Mikey Musimeci’s competition videos, there are not many people who can pass his guard, including (but not limited to) 6’4, 250-pound IBJJF world champion Mahamed Aly.
Musimeci was even able to sweep Aly,
Alongside his fantastic open guard, he’s a force to be reckoned with 43% of his wins coming via submission.
Geo Martinez better watch out for Mikey Musimeci’s ankle lock!
But more importantly, Musimeci’s entries into his favorite submissions make him extremely dangerous.
He uses his open guard to enter reverse de la riva or de la riva, then uses a berimbolo into a crab ride.
The crab ride is his favored position because you have many options from there.
You can attack a leg, take the back, come up to a passing position, etc.… Essentially, it allows you to put your opponents into a dilemma while decreasing their chances of escaping.
Musimeci’s game is not unique, but because he is well-versed in these movements, he has an advantage over those who aren’t.
If you combine this positional knowledge with Musimeci’s proficiency in positional pressure, transitions, and breaking mechanics, the golden boy is any competitor’s worst nightmare.
Geo Martinez
Record: 34-15
- Height: 5’9” | Weight: 141.5 | Age: 34
- Wins: 23 SUB, 2 decisions, 4 points,
- Losses: 3 SUB, 7 points, 2 OT, 3 Decision,
- Noticeable Wins: Paulo Miyao, Junny Ocasio, Gregor Gracie, Joao Miyao
- Noticeable Losses: Kennedy Maciel, Nicky Ryan, Frank Rosenthal, Jon Calestine
- Current Ranking: #1 Featherweight | Last match: Junny Ocasio
Fighter’s Weaknesses:
Geo “Freakazoid” Martinez has only been submitted 3x in his career.
Martinez’s defensive capabilities are strong, and his technical knowledge is vast.
That said, his game is scramble-oriented, which means he uses rolling attacks and transitionary movements to secure his victories.
This is a double-edged sword.
If Martinez’s opponents are not knowledgeable of scrambles or “in-between” positions, this method works. But, if his opponents are aware of this style of “invisible jiu-jitsu” play and said positions, Geo Martinez can easily be countered.
During his match against Nicky Ryan at Kasai Pro 2, Nicky catches Martinez in a deep Shiro Sinkaku (reverse triangle) during one of these transitionary positions.
Martinez favors rolling passes: rolling kimuras, rolling front headlocks, truck entries, etc.
The risk levels associated with these movements are high; that’s why many people don’t often use them.
If Mikey Musumeci can capitalize on them, he might be able to submit Geo Martinez.
Fighter’s Strengths:
Geo “Freakazoid” Martinez has a weird game.
Martinez is athletic, but his style is not necessarily “explosive” like a Ronaldo Jr or Lucas Barbosa because there’s a high level of technicalness involved.
He’s flexible, wiry, and his game resembles his physical attributes, but he does not have a specific move he favors over another.
You could argue Geo Martinez enjoys gogoplatas or electric chairs because those techniques are the bread and butter of 10th planet Jiu-Jitsu, but he doesn’t.
Or, more specifically, Martinez’s submission rate does not reflect these core techniques.
Martinez submits people with everything: heel hooks, guillotines, rear naked strangulations, electric chairs, kimuras, etc.
His game does not often favor one submission over another. He’s not that picky.
That said, the common denominators in all Martinez’s matches are his rolling movements and scrambles.
He favors these two because he’s well versed in these transitionary positions.
During Martinez’s match at Quintet 2 against a 220, 6’4 Haisam Rida, he used a scramble to come up and finish Rida with a high elbow guillotine in under two minutes.
During his match against a much larger Gregor Gracie at Quintet 3, Martinez used the brief transitionary movement Gregor initiated to escape an armbar and turned the move into a kimura, submitting Gregor (29:30).
You could say his unorthodox style of play is his bread and butter.
Perhaps, that’s why the name of his gym is “10th Planet
Freaks.”
The Match Will Come To A Referees Decision
This might be one of the most difficult matches to predict on FloGrappling’s Road To ADCC.
Both competitor’s styles match up evenly, and both have high submission rates and very few submission losses.
That said, I forecast the winner will be Mikey Musumeci via a referee’s decision.
I doubt we will see a submission victory.
Mikey Musumeci understands these in-between transitionary positions because his bread and butter are crab rides and berimbolos, which are essentially “in-between” positions.
Musumeci will be able to neutralize Martinez.
… But he won’t be able to submit him.
That’s my prediction, what’s yours?
