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Newly crowned ONE flyweight submission grappling world champion Mikey Musumeci has been under the global spotlight for some time now. Besides being one of the greatest submission grapplers active today, Musumeci also breaks the stigma of martial artists and prizefighters being brutes.
The 26-year-old self-proclaimed grappling nerd advocates martial arts and fighting as a way to set a good example for the next generation. His boyish smile and child-like giddiness are infectious, and we're all loving it. Musumeci even called out ONE flyweight world champion Demetrious Johnson in perhaps the most polite call-out ever.
Watch the call-out below:
Speaking of call-outs, Mikey Musumeci made another polite and respectful challenge to sambo world champions in light of a quote by the great Khabib Nurmagomedov. In a video posted by ONE Championship on Instagram, Musumeci said:
"There a funny quote by Khabib [Nurmagomedov]. He said, 'If Sambo was easy, it would be called jiu-jitsu'. So let's have the sambo guys compete with the jiu-jitsu people. Let me fight the top world champion of my weight class in Sambo, and let's see which is superior in the submission grappling format."
If you're just reading that quote, you'd think it sounds like an arrogant grappler calling out world champions. But hearing Mikey Musumeci say it - while he munches on his favorite Italian food - you'd think he means well and that he's only protecting the integrity of his own sport.
What's the origin of the Khabib quote that Mikey Musumeci was talking about?
The quote in question made some rounds in the MMA and jiu-jitsu world when Khabib wore a T-shirt bearing those words to a weigh-in in the UFC.
Here's a photo of him wearing the shirt:
The quote was quite cheeky and worthy of a good laugh, but it does pose an intriguing question. How will sambo practitioners fare against jiu-jitsu fighters in the submission grappling format? Or vice versa?
Thankfully, ONE Championship is now stirring the pot and brewing a rivalry between the two martial arts disciplines. It started when former ONE lightweight world champion and jiu-jitsu legend Shinya Aoki met former ONE featherweight king and sambo specialist Marat Gafurov.
The latest entry in this rivalry was when jiu-jitsu blackbelt Rodrigo Marello submitted Ruslan Bagdasarian with the fastest win in ONE submission grappling history. Marello's footlock from the Dela Riva guard was as impressive as it was unexpected.
If and when Mikey Musumeci gets a chance to face a Sambo world champion in submission grappling, it will surely be an interesting bout to witness. Perhaps he can also cross over to sambo and play in their format? Unlikely, but we can all dream.
