ONE 167: Gabriel Sousa believes Mikey Musumeci redo in ONE Championship will be a 'very different' experience

There are no warm-up contests for Gabriel Sousa as he prepares to make his debut in ONE Championship.

In any regular circumstance, a new addition to the roster might start off at the lower end of the division and start to climb the ladder as a result of their performances.

This isn't the case with Sousa given the narrative that is surrounding his first performance inside the Circle.

The Brazilian competitor has a history with one of the biggest stars and world champions on ONE's submission grappling roster that has blossomed in recent years.

Gabriel Sousa is the last man to defeat a modern-day living legend of the sport in Mikey Musumeci, who is currently the ONE flyweight submission grappling world champion.

The two men last met back in 2021 when Sousa was able to pull off a big upset to submit Musumeci and secure one of the biggest wins of his career.

Now, on June 7, he will look to do it again in a bantamweight submission grappling tie, but the debutant is well aware that while he is familiar with his opponent, everything else will be different this time around.

In an interview with ONE Championship, Gabriel Sousa outlined some of the key changes in the rematch compared to their first meeting:

"It's going to be very different. It will be on the ONE platform, something much bigger with a much larger audience and a much better structure."

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Gabriel Sousa will need to adapt quickly in order to level the field

Gabriel Sousa will absolutely draw confidence from the fact that he was the last man to beat Mikey Musumeci and not only that, he is one of the few to ever submit 'Darth Rigatoni' in competition.

The flyweight submission grappling kingpin, who will be moving up to bantamweight for this contest, will feel very much at home for this rematch and that could play a factor in the match.

For Sousa, he will need to hit the ground running in ONE Championship if he is going to have a chance of beating Musumeci for a historic second time.

ONE 167 will air live from the Impact Arena in Bangkok, Thailand, on June 7. The entire card will be available for free to North American fans with an active Amazon Prime Video subscription.