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Three things you should know about ONE grappling superstar Mikey Musumeci
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Mikey Musumeci.
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a href="https://onefc.com/athletes/mikey-musumeci" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Mikey Musumeci made a splash in his ONE Championship debut earlier this year when he faced Japanese legend Masakazu Imanari at ONE 156: Eersel vs. Sadikovic in April.
The 26-year-old pulled off a rear-naked choke submission against the jiu-jitsu great in the first half of their submission grappling match, earning himself a shot at the ONE Flyweight Submission Grappling World Championship.
“Darth Rigatoni” will get a chance at the inaugural strap versus Brazilian foe Cleber “Clandestino” Sousa at ONE Fight Night 2: Xiong vs. Lee III on Saturday, Oct. 1, at the Singapore Indoor Stadium.
However, before he steps into the Circle with Sousa, we share three things you should know about the American star.
He’s a multiple-time BJJ world champion
Musumeci is a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt with many accolades to his name.
His most famous accomplishments include being a five-time IBJJF World Champion, Pan American Champion, and two-time European Open Champion.
The 26-year-old has also faced some of the most dangerous men across multiple weight classes, including Joao Miyao and Rafael Freitas.
He’s been training for 85 percent of his life
The New Jersey native first stepped into a martial arts academy when he was only four years old.
Since that time, he’s accumulated a staggering record of 58-5 and was victorious at every IBJJF World Championship since he was a blue belt.
Only 14 years after his first BJJ lesson, Musumeci was awarded his black belt from the legendary Gilbert Burns.
This fight is a trilogy matchup
“Darth Rigatoni” has faced Sousa twice before, with both men holding one win over the other.
Musumeci dropped a decision to “Clandestino” back in 2017 at the IBJJF Pan American Championship.
However, he made up for it a few months later when the two faced each other at the 2017 Abu Dhabi World Professional Jiu-Jitsu Championship. Musumeci won the rematch on points after a hard-fought battle.
Before Musumeci steps into the Circle, be sure to catch all the action at ONE 161: Petchmorakot vs. Tawanchai on NETVERSE, Vidio.com, Kaskus TV, and MAXstream at 5 p.m. Western Indonesia Time (WIB) on Thursday, 29 September. The main card will follow on NETVERSE, Vidio.com, Kaskus TV, and MAXstream at 7:30 p.m. WIB. Also, NET TV will air a same-day delay at 10:30 p.m. WIB.
This article was published in collaboration with ONE Championship.
