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If you want to see what a heel hook submission can do to someone's knee, watch Mikey Musumeci's dismantling of Gantumur Bayanduuren's leg at ONE Fight Night 6. The submission grappling bout, which was for Musumeci's ONE flyweight submission grappling world title, was a 10-minute clinic on the brutality of leglocks.
Right from the start, Musumeci went into attack mode as he usually does with all of his matches. After a few scrambles and a brief stall against the cage, 'Darth Rigatoni' was able to use an arm trap as bait so he could transition into a leglock.
From this point forward, what Mikey Musumeci did to Bayanduuren's leg was something even grappling fanatics found difficult to watch.
First, Musumeci locked in his trademark 'Mikey Lock', effectively breaking the Mongolian's ankle. After Bayanduuren miraculously toughed his way out of the hold, 'Darth Rigatoni' switched things up and locked in a tight heel hook.
We can't count how many times Bayanduuren's knee twisted out of alignment as Musumeci was switching from heel hooks to kneebars. Still, the tough Mongolian never tapped out and finished the match on the losing end of a unanimous decision.
Watch the full fight below:
Mikey Musumeci claims Gantamuur Bayanduuren should have tapped
In his post-fight media scrum after the bout, Mikey Musumeci was adamant that his opponent should have tapped to avoid serious injury:
"I've broken a lot of legs but then now that leg exploded, I didn't know what to do and it's just disgusting and gross. I really wish he [Bayanduuren] tapped. The result didn't change and now he's in the hospital. So I don't know. But what a warrior he is for showing his will."
According to ONE CEO Chatri Stiyodtyong, the initial findings on Bayanduuren's leg injuries were, as he said, "akin to a motorcycle accident" and might prove career-ending. In hindsight, Mikey Musumeci was right. Bayanduuren was completely wrapped up and had no way of escaping the leglocks. It doesn't make sense to risk your career and livelihood just to prove that you're tougher than most. Sometimes it pays to just tap out now so you can come home healthy and train again to fight another day.
Watch Musumeci's post-event media scrum below:
