Two of the sport's most technical competitors are arguing about strength training, and the disagreement is a useful way into a question almost every gym-going grappler eventually asks.
Reviewed by BJJ Gyms · Updated 2026-07-27
Competitive records compiled from Wikipedia profiles of Mikey Musumeci and Dante Leon.
The exchange began after Musumeci repeated a claim he has made before: that he stopped lifting weights once he earned his black belt because relying less on strength forced him to become more technically efficient, and that he believes he actually got stronger in training once conditioning work was removed from his routine.
Leon was not convinced that story fully explains Musumeci's build. His argument was that certain muscle groups, particularly a defined chest and core, do not typically develop from grappling volume alone, and that a physique like Musumeci's without any resistance training would make him such a genetic outlier that his advice does not generalize to the average person walking into a gym.
Leon summarized his position bluntly, saying Musumeci is "so genetically gifted" that he should be careful prescribing training habits to everyone else. It is a pointed disagreement between two elite competitors, but it lands on a genuinely useful question for anyone who trains.
Part of what makes the debate interesting is how different these two athletes actually are physically and competitively. Musumeci competes at roughly 134 pounds, holds five IBJJF black belt world titles, and built his UFC BJJ bantamweight championship on technical precision and leg-lock timing rather than physical strength.
Leon competes at middleweight, closer to 181 pounds, and has built his career on a more physically imposing, pressure-heavy style that has earned him two ADCC bronze medals and multiple IBJJF no-gi world titles across belt levels. Two very different bodies, competing at very different weights, arriving at very different conclusions about what got them there.
Away from the back-and-forth between two elite athletes, most coaches land somewhere in the middle. Mat time builds a specific kind of strength, grip endurance, hip mobility, and positional stamina, that a weight room cannot fully replicate. But targeted resistance training builds explosiveness, joint stability, and injury resilience that pure grappling volume often does not address on its own, especially for anyone who did not start training as a teenager.
This matters more, not less, for recreational and older students. A student starting BJJ after 40, or a beginner still learning to fall safely, generally benefits from basic strength work around the shoulders, neck, and hips well before they are worried about competing at Musumeci's or Leon's level.
Nobody needs Musumeci's genetics or Leon's frame to get good at jiu-jitsu, and nobody needs to resolve their public disagreement before showing up to class. A reasonable approach for most students is simple: prioritize consistent mat time first, since technique is what actually wins exchanges, and layer in basic strength and mobility work on the side for durability and longevity.
If this debate has you second-guessing your own training split, the best move is asking a coach at your gym directly. Every academy has students who lift and students who do not, and a good instructor can help figure out where you fit without pretending there is only one right answer.
Whether or not you agree with either athlete, here are five practical ways gyms and students actually approach the strength-versus-technique question.
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According to his own public comments, yes, he says he stopped strength training after earning his black belt to lean more on technical efficiency.
Most strength coaches agree that targeted muscle development generally requires resistance training, though genetics and grappling volume both play a role.
No. Consistent mat time and technical instruction are what actually build skill; weight training is a supplemental choice, not a requirement.
Many coaches suggest two focused strength sessions a week, separate from mat classes, built around basic compound movements and injury-prevention work.