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If there’s one thing Mikey Musumeci loves more than Brazilian jiu-jitsu, it’s most likely Italian food.
It should come as no surprise that the fighter nicknamed ‘Darth Rigatoni’ is a lover of all things pasta and pizza. Consuming the pair as part of his regular diet, Musumeci recognizes that he must practice some restraint, but there is one exception to the rule. This is the cuisine of the popular Italian food chain Carbone:
“I eat everything at night, basically,” Musumeci told the South China Morning Post. “But probably if you bring me food from Carbone, I would cut weight just because I want to eat that meal. That’s something I would cut weight for.”
Opening in 2013, Carbone is a hotspot for amazon Italian food in the heart of New York City. The chain has also opened locations in Dallas, Miami, Las Vegas, and Hong Kong.
Though Mikey Musumeci’s diet is unconventional for a professional athlete, it has clearly served him well. ‘Darth Rigatoni’ is a five-time IBJJF world champion. He also made history by becoming ONE Championship’s first-ever ONE submission grappling world champion, capturing the title in a dominant performance against Cleber Sousa at ONE on Prime Video 2 in September. He successfully defended the title for the first time earlier this month at ONE Fight Night 6 on Prime Video, dominating Sambo world champion Gantumur Bayanduuren.
Watch the full interview below:
Mikey Musumeci is thankful for the platform that ONE Championship has provided him
Mikey Musumeci has been dominant in the world of submission grappling for years, but chances are many never heard of him until ONE Championship signed him to a contract last year.
Since then, ‘Darth Rigatoni’ has blown up the world of combat sports with his infectious personality and his incredibly unique style of grappling that has kept him undefeated inside the circle thus far.
Following his historic ONE world title victory late last year, Mikey Musumeci shared his gratitude to the ONE CEO for giving him and submission grappling a chance to shine on ONE Championship’s global stage:
“I remember telling all my friends [that] all five times that I won [in] black belt [during] worlds was still like 10% of the publicity and recognition you get for winning one match in ONE. So it just tells you how big this platform is, and what they're doing for the athletes."
He added:
“You know, we all work so hard and train so hard. So all these athletes deserve this recognition for how hard they train. And ONE is giving us a platform that we deserve. I'm just so thankful to be on this platform, and I thank Chatri so much for this opportunity.”
