Mikey Musumeci explains what he needs to do to overcome Cleber Sousa at ONE on Prime Video 2

Multi-time jiu-jitsu world champion and ONE Championship's resident grappling nerd Mikey Musumeci will look to add another world title to his trophy case. On September 30 at ONE on Prime Video 2, 'Darth Rigatoni' will face his grappling rival, Brazil's Cleber Sousa, for a third time. This time, it will be for the inaugural ONE flyweight submission grappling world championship.

Musumeci and Sousa had two matches prior and were razor close. The first bout was nearly a tie as no points were scored when the time expired. The bout was left to the referee's decision, which narrowly went to Sousa. The second bout saw Musumeci avenging his loss by besting the Brazilian by a narrow 2-point lead.

Now, under bright lights and in front of a global audience, Mikey Musumeci and Cleber Sousa will look to settle the score - with world championship gold on the line. In an interview with ONE Championship, Musumeci spoke about his preparations for the September 30 clash:

"I just have to be in really good shape mentally and physically and push forward. Also, he's going to be trying to finish me, I'm going to be trying to finish him, especially with these ONE rules. It's just whoever has the most submissions, like real submissions win, right? I really love that."

It must be pointed out that this rubber match will be significantly different from the first two bouts between Mikey Musumeci and Cleber Sousa. Their previous battles were fought while wearing a gi, while this one will be fought in No-Gi. Also, there will be no points system in this third match. The only ways to win are via submission or by having the highest number of legitimate submission attempts once time expires.

These changes may present new dynamics to their match, making it more exciting and compelling to watch.

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Mikey Musumeci recalls his loss to Cleber Sousa

In another interview with ONE Championship, Mikey Musumeci admitted that his loss to Cleber Sousa back in 2017 was one of his toughest matches ever. Sousa seemingly had unlimited cardio to withstand and repel all of Musumeci's submission attempts. 'Darth Rigatoni' said:

“In my first match with [Sousa], I lost with the ref decision at Pan Ams, and it was a really tough match for me. It was a back-and-forth battle. I kept attacking submissions and stuff.”

In their Pan-American Jiu-Jitsu Championship match, ‘Clandestino’ displayed incredible heart, endurance, and stamina while repelling Musumeci’s constant pressure. After a back-and-forth scrap, Sousa took the referee's decision to get the win.