Mikey Musumeci recently directed his attention towards Aljamain Sterling…Criticizing the MMA fighter’s reaction following a loss in a BJJ competition.
The controversy began when Sterling voiced his frustration over his opponent’s tactics, which involved frequent guard pulling and minimal active engagement.
And, well, Musumeci voiced his own opinion on the subject – by emphasizing that guard pulling is a legitimate tactic in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu:
If you accept the ruleset, you can’t really complain after you do the ruleset.
In other words, while he personally disapproves of excessive guard pulling and passive tactics, Musumeci acknowledges that these strategies are within the bounds of the established guidelines:
It wasn’t even directed to Aljamain.This is about people pulling guard.
The core issue for Musumeci is not the act of guard pulling itself, but rather the lack of effort to pass the guard and actively pursue submissions once the position is achieved.He believes this approach undermines the essence of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu:
If you do a Jiu-Jitsu match and you’re not there to pass the guard and you’re just like complaining about it..Then it’s, like, what are you doing there?