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Newly-crowned ONE flyweight submission grappling world champion Mikey Musumeci has been making the rounds on social media and MMA media as of late.
The mild-mannered and polite titleholder has spoken about his intention to elevate the sport of submission grappling to a new level. Musumeci also believes that ONE Championship will be instrumental in his valiant mission.
In an interview with ONE Championship, Mikey Musumeci spoke about what the Asian organization is doing for the sport. 'Darth Rigatoni' made it clear what a world title in ONE means:
“Now, this is a different league of competing. In ONE Championship, this is professional, this is a different realm of competing, and this is for a title. This is in front of so many people, millions of people watching this.”
Musumeci concluded with:
“So this is, in my opinion, the biggest possible title in jiu-jitsu, and it will be forever the biggest title in jiu-jitsu with what we’re doing right now. So it’s so special that Kade [Ruotolo] and I both have the opportunity to be the first champions of ONE in our divisions.”
Though it may seem quite bold, it's not far from the truth. With what ONE did with Muay Thai and kickboxing by incepting ONE Super Series, it's entirely plausible that they produce the same level of prestige with their submission grappling.
It's only a matter of time.
Mikey Musumeci proposes a submission grappling bout with Demetrious Johnson
Fresh off winning the first-ever ONE flyweight submission grappling world title at ONE on Prime Video 2, Mikey Musumeci proposed a match with Demetrious Johnson.
'Darth Rigatoni' called out the ONE flyweight world champion in perhaps the most polite call-out ever:
"We can make history together, you know. I know me and him [Johnson] can bring the MMA and jiu-jitsu fans together. And it would be just a historic, incredible event. It will be an honor to step on the mats with him. It's not a callout - it's just a respectful request to roll [laughs]."
If this bout ever happens, it will be huge for submission grappling. With the amount of MMA fans Johnson can bring, plus the global reach ONE can provide, having Musumeci showcase his grappling skills against the MMA GOAT contender can be huge.
More eyes will definitely be looking into the sport of submission grappling should this match come to fruition.
