“It is beyond epic” - Fans hyped up to witness Mikey Musumeci challenge Kade Ruotolo for lightweight submission grappling throne

Two of the greatest submission grapplers of all time — Mikey Musumeci and Kade Ruotolo — will square off in a can't-miss dream match when ONE Championship returns to the United States later this year.

Emanating Ball Arena in Denver, Colorado, ONE 168: Denver will feature some of the biggest names in all of martial arts, including current ONE world champions Stamp Fairtex, Xiong Jing Nan, Jonathan Haggerty, and Superlek Kiatmoo9.

Also featuring at the event will be a massive champion vs. champion clash as reigning ONE flyweight submission grappling world titleholder Mikey Musumeci moves up three weight classes to challenge Kade Ruotolo for his ONE lightweight submission grappling gold.

"GRAPPLING DREAM MATCH. Mikey Musumeci moves up three divisions to challenge Kade Ruotolo for the ONE Lightweight Submission Grappling World Championship!"

ONE Championship fans couldn't contain their excitement upon learning of the announcement and flooded the Instagram comments, writing:

"This, it is beyond epic."

"3 weight class move up. Mikey is a downright savage for even attempting it."

"IF YOU DON'T LIKE ONE FC SUBMISSION GRAPPLING THEN GET OUT OF MY FACE!! THIS IS AS GOOD AS SUPERLEK VS. RODTANG."

"Three divisions is bonkers."

"This is gonna be so damn good. I'm getting my popcorn ready."

"Gonna be one of the best matches of the year, including ADCC/IBJJF."

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Kade Ruotolo and Mikey Musumeci have been turning their opponents into highlights since 2022

Mikey Musumeci and Kade Ruotolo are a combined 12-0 under the ONE banner with six submissions between them. 'Darth Rigatoni' became the first-ever ONE flyweight submission grappling world champion in September 2022, besting Cleber Sousa at ONE on Prime Video 2.

However, Ruotolo wasn't far behind, winning the lightweight belt a month later with a submission victory over former Sambo world champion Uali Kurzhev.

Since then, Ruotolo has picked up back-to-back wins over Norwegian rival Tommy Langaker and recently finished Francisco Lo in under five minutes at ONE Fight Night 21.

Musumeci, on the other hand, has been laying waste to a variety of fighters from multiple weight classes, making his last three opponents — Osamah Almarwai, Jarred Brooks, and Shinya Aoki all tap out.

Who comes out on top when two of the best grapplers on the globe go toe-to-toe at ONE 168 on Friday, September 6?

Tickets for ONE 168: Denver are now available at Ticketmaster.