“Could they defend what I’m doing?” - Mikey Musumeci details his mindset and strategy against opponents

Mikey Musumeci has always been an innovative grappler and usually tests out new techniques that would bolster his arsenal. Nevertheless, he still sees his offensive approach in the most simplistic of ways.

The American submission specialist can gauge his development when he takes on old rival Cleber Sousa for the inaugural ONE flyweight submission grappling world title at ONE on Prime Video 2: Xiong vs. Lee III this Friday, September 30th, at the Singapore Indoor Stadium.

In an interview with ONE Championship, Musumeci said it’d be up to Sousa how he responds to his attack and if the Brazilian star can keep up with the holds he’s about to showcase in their match.

“Cleber should give me some really interesting reactions to the moves I’m working on, and we’ll see if I have the answer to how he defends the moves I’m working on. My game is very straightforward. I’m always doing certain sequences, and I’m attacking every second, and my opponent, it’s on them. Could they defend what I’m doing? And if they do, it stops my position. And if they don’t, I get it.”

He added:

“So we’ll see his answers to what I’m working with, and I’m excited to see if there’s something new that will expose something I’m doing wrong.”

Musumeci is coming off an impressive debut in ONE Championship when he submitted Japanese legend Masakazu Imanari with a rear-naked choke in their match at ONE 156 this past April.

Sousa, meanwhile, will step inside the Circle for the first time at ONE on Prime Video 2.

Although they’re both relative newcomers to the promotion, Musumeci and Sousa have shared an interesting rivalry. The two Brazilian jiu-jitsu aces are 1-1 in their head-to-head matchups, with both of their fights happening in 2017.

‘Clandestino’ was the one who drew first blood when he took a decision win over Musumeci at the 2017 Pan Jiu-Jitsu Championship in March of that year. A month later, it was ‘Darth Rigatoni’ who ended up winning when he took a points win at the 2017 Abu Dhabi World Pro.

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Mikey Musumeci praises Sousa’s resiliency

Mikey Musumeci has had his fair share of opponents, but he sees Sousa as probably his toughest yet.

In the same ONE Championship interview, Musumeci said Sousa is the most resilient opponent he’s ever faced and that the Brazilian grappler has a near-endless gas tank during fights.

“He’s a tough guy, just a really tough, solid guy. Like, he’s one of those guys who’s really hard to do things to. It doesn’t matter what you’re doing to him – he’s just solid and tough. And he doesn’t give up, he pushes forward, he pushes the pace, he tries to break you mentally,” said Mikey Musumeci.

Although their two previous fights took place in 2017, it’s interesting to see how the two fighters have developed five years since their first encounters.