One viral stance. Nine million mysterious views. And a UFC contract that just expired. This is the story of how jiu-jitsu's biggest star, Mikey Musumeci, became its most controversial figure—overnight.

After a flawless submission, he was called a "circus act." Then, his fight video was seemingly botted with millions of views, sparking accusations of fraud. Now, with his future on the line, every major promotion is waiting for him to become a free agent.

Were the views bought? Is the hate real? And the million-dollar question: is he about to walk away from the UFC forever? Tonight, Mikey Musumeci is here to answer everything. No filters, no PR team. Let’s get the unfiltered truth.

So, the bell rings for the main event. His first title defense. And then, Mikey does it. The “Cobra Kai” crane kick stance. But this wasn’t just showmanship. As the commentators pointed out live, it was a technical setup. The moment he dropped to the mat, he was going to land with an immediate bite on his opponent’s leg, making it nearly impossible to stop him from getting the position he wanted. It was genius.

Once the fight hit the ground, his opponent, Kevin Carrasco, tried to stay low, trying to avoid the leg entanglements. But you have to engage to win, and the second he did, Mikey was in his comfort zone. He got an underhook, elevated Carrasco, and locked it in—the “Mikey Lock,” his own signature submission. The tap was verbal, and so fast it caught the announcers off guard. One commentator said a training partner told him it feels like Mikey is going to "break your whole foot immediately."

But even as the arena exploded over that insane level of skill, the tweets started flooding in. INSTANTLY. “Clown stance.” “Disrespectful.” “That’s not real jiu-jitsu.” I get it, some people in jiu-jitsu want it to be super serious all the time. They want stone-faced killers, not people having fun. But here’s the stat nobody is talking about: a FOUR-SECOND clip of Mikey doing the stance is being rewatched more than ANY OTHER UFC BJJ fight this entire year. The most replayed moment is because of the stunt.

This is where I have to say, COME ON. In MMA, a fighter can throw a wild, desperate haymaker, get a lucky knockout, and become a hero overnight. We celebrate it as “shocking” or “unbelievable.”

But a BJJ world champion—a guy who has dedicated twenty years of his life to mastering the most minute details of his craft—has a little fun for four seconds with a move that was also a legitimate technical setup, and suddenly he's a clown? Suddenly, we're having a massive debate about the “soul of jiu-jitsu?” It’s a ridiculous double standard.

We reward chance in one sport but punish personality in another. The very thing that made the clip go viral—the showmanship—is what the purists want to kill. It makes no sense.

And if you want proof that personality sells, look no further than Mikey's own Instagram. While the haters were debating “respect,” his account absolutely exploded. We're talking about a seventy-three million view blowup in just thirty days.

Okay, let’s talk about the nine-million-view elephant in the room, where the numbers defy all credibility. The evidence suggests someone made a critical error in the view-boosting process.

Let’s look at the data. On October 7th, the fight video had 1.9 million views, 300 comments, and 8,800 likes. Four days later, on October 11th, it had rocketed to 9 million views. But in that time, it gained only 25 new comments and 1,000 new likes. Gaining over 7 million views with practically zero new engagement isn’t just suspicious—it's statistically impossible for organic viewership.

The engagement rate tells the real story. VidIQ rated the video’s engagement at just 0.1%—an abysmal figure suggesting artificial inflation. For comparison, the Craig Jones Invitational 2 achieved 1.2 million views, but generated 2.6 times more likes and over 4 times more comments. Its engagement rate was 21 times higher. The disparity is stark: legitimate grappling content generates far more proportional engagement.

To think this number is credible is next-level delusion. Even Mikey Musumeci himself commented sarcastically on social media: “The last event I headlined is on 9M views on youtube now. Seems like it really didnt do well”.

So who’s behind it? Could a rival promotion have botted the video to make the UFC look bad? It’s a dirty move, but possible. Or did a marketing company go rogue to make their numbers look good? Also possible. The worst part is this fake view controversy completely overshadowed the incredible performances from every athlete on the card. That’s the biggest tragedy.

Okay, the countdown is over. The rumors are true. On "The Ariel Helwani Show," Mikey Musumeci himself confirmed that his UFC contract has officially expired. He is now a free agent.

He revealed he’s expecting to renegotiate with UFC executive Hunter Campbell soon. But when Ariel Helwani asked him point-blank if he would re-sign, his answer was a quick and simple, "I don't know."

Now here’s the twist that changes everything. All the speculation about him competing for other promotions while signed to the UFC? Mikey shut that down completely. He made it crystal clear he'll only compete for the UFC under an exclusive agreement.

Mikey explained that it’s not worth it for the UFC to "invest millions of dollars" building up an athlete just to let them go compete for someone else. This puts all the rumors to rest—if he's with the UFC, he is ONLY with the UFC.

So who has the power here? The UFC built its entire 145-pound BJJ division around him. He’s the face of it, having headlined two of their first three events. If they lose him, it leaves a giant hole in their marketing.

But Mikey’s leverage is HUGE. ONE Championship, the promotion he left to join the UFC, has already texted him. Polaris, the biggest grappling show in Europe, would likely build a tour around him. And a new league called “Subversive” has apparently offered him a mid-six-figure guarantee just to sign. That is life-changing money.

He’s not bluffing when he says, “I love the UFC, but love doesn’t pay physical therapy bills.” That is 100% true. You have to get paid in a sport this brutal. This is a business decision.

So, after all that, I want to know what YOU think. Did the hate for Mikey’s stance go too far? Were those nine million views 100% fake? And the biggest question of all: should Mikey re-sign an exclusive deal with the UFC, or should he leave and take one of those massive deals from another promotion?

Drop your answer in the comments below. And remember, the best way to deal with a hater is with a clean submission. See you in the next one.