
Mikey Musumeci strapped on a dog shock collar during training camp to prepare for Bryce Mitchell at UFC BJJ 11.
The UFC BJJ bantamweight champion moves up to featherweight to face the UFC contender Thursday night in Las Vegas under a unique ruleset that bans leg locks and guard pulls. Mitchell, who recently labeled those techniques gay and useless for self-defense, challenged Musumeci to a match without the submissions that made him famous, and the champion accepted.
To condition himself against pulling guard, Musumeci had training partners zap him with a shock collar every time he landed on his back. "I was getting zapped with a dog collar every day from the Tackett brothers if I ended up on bottom," he told media at UFC BJJ 11 availability, per MMA Mania. "Whenever I see the floor, I see myself getting zapped, and psychologically, that does something to your brain."
The bizarre camp also included spiritual warfare. Musumeci said his team threw holy water on him whenever his back touched the mat to get the devil out of him. He called the methods interesting but effective from a spiritual and psychological standpoint.
Mitchell submitted Santiago Luna with an arm-triangle choke in his most recent UFC appearance but was himself heel hooked at Eddie Bravo Invitational 25 last year. Musumeci enters 4-0 in UFC BJJ with four submission wins, three by heel hook. His bantamweight title is not on the line because the bout takes place at featherweight.
UFC BJJ 11 airs Thursday from Meta Apex in Las Vegas.
Reported via:
More must-reads:
+
Get the latest news and rumors, customized to your favorite sports and teams. Emailed daily. Always free!