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It never occurred to Mikey Musumeci that he would deliver one of the most stomach-churning performances of his entire grappling career.
At last Friday’s co-main event at ONE Fight Night 6 on Prime Video, ‘Darth Rigatoni’ Mikey Musumeci, put his belt on the line for the first time in front of millions of fans watching.
After originally scheduled challenger Sayan Khertek was unable to compete at the event, 26-year-old sambo world champion,Gantumur Bayanduuren, stepped up to the plate on short notice.
The grappling match began in technical fashion with both grapplers looking for an early submission. However, Musumeci eventually got the better of these exchanges. Nearly finding the finish with his trademark “Mikey Lock,” Musumeci was surprised that his opponent didn’t tap out after hearing his knee pop multiple times.
Refusing to change position, the 26-year-old standout continued to crank the ankle but to no avail. After spending the majority of the fight in the same position, it finally clicked that Bayanduuren wasn’t going to surrender.
With less than 2 minutes on the clock, Musumeci transitioned to attack from behind with a rear-naked choke, but it was too late.
Recalling the past events at the post-fight interviews, ‘Darth Rigatoni’ explained:
“Sometimes I have this problem when I fight, I get too stubborn on a submission or I focus on something and then they channel, they change to do something else. So the problem was I kept popping his leg so I felt like, ‘How do I stop doing this move if it keeps popping?’
Watch the presser below:
Despite not getting the finish he wanted, Mikey Musumeci left Thailand with another golden victory. He continued his dominant reign under the promotion with his third straight win, solidifying his status as the undisputed ONE flyweight submission grappling world champion.
Mikey Musumeci explains the reason for calling out Demetrious Johnson in submission grappling
It’s not too early to say that 26-year-old Mikey Musumeci is at the pinnacle of his jiu-jitsu career.
After experiencing some success within the promotion, the human pretzel is motivated to face bigger names to help establish his footing amongst the elite. Setting his heart on rolling with MMA veteran ‘Mighty Mouse’ Demetrious Johnson, Musumeci explained why it’s a good idea to continue pursuing this potential matchup.
He told Combat Press:
“I know that me and Demetrious, if we did a match, could generate over 100 million views, and that would be a big, big thing for jiu-jitsu – the biggest match ever with viewership. That would bring more people to start jiu-jitsu, which means that we’re having an impact on others and helping the sport grow.”
Last Friday, Musumeci doubled down on his desire to face the flyweight king. Although Johnson has his hands full this year with an upcoming trilogy fight to prepare for against Adriano Moraes, fans will have to pay good money to see him be the first to outmaneuver the Italian-American standout.
