“It was a really tough match for me” - Mikey Musumeci recalls first fight with Cleber Sousa

Mikey Musumeci isn’t used to being on the receiving end of a dominant grappling display, but his first fight against Cleber Sousa was an example of that. Although he eventually got his comeuppance, Musumeci wants to break that stalemate.

While he’s eager to take a second win over his rival, Musumeci also has eyes on the inaugural ONE flyweight submission grappling world championship at ONE on Prime Video 2: Xiong vs. Lee 3. The event is set to take place this Friday at the Singapore Indoor Stadium.

In an interview with ONE Championship, Musumeci admitted that his first fight against Sousa was one of the most difficult matches he’s ever been in. He also pointed out that the Brazilian has a near-unlimited gas tank when it comes to defending submission attempts.

Mikey Musumeci 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.”

Sousa, who will make his ONE Championship debut in the promotion’s second Amazon Prime Video card, uploaded a snippet of how he took the win in his first match against Musumeci.

While it did showcase his highlights, Sousa’s post did also emphasize what Musumeci was describing about how the Brazilian grappler operates.

‘Clandestino’ displayed his incredible stamina in their match, withstanding Musumeci’s constant pressure to take the decision win at their matchup in the 2017 Pan Jiu-Jitsu Championship in March of that year.

Musumeci, though, got even just a month later in the 2017 Abu Dhabi World Pro taking the points victory over Sousa. With their head-to-head series at 1-1, Musumeci can take the tiebreak in what could be a pivotal moment in BJJ history.

---

Mikey Musumeci shares his credo for maintaining peak fitness

Athletes are always expected to be on top of their fitness, and Mikey Musumeci is no exception. What he does, though, is far from the conventional.

‘Darth Rigatoni’ told ONE Championship in an interview that one of the secrets to keeping his physique is hard work and a consistent diet of pizza and pasta.

Mikey Musumeci said that he only takes fluids and caffeine in the morning and would only indulge in his favorite cuisine come night time.

“The first thing I do when I wake up, I train, and then I drink electrolytes and caffeine. So like half a gallon of water or just electrolytes and caffeine, which is very filling because it’s a lot of liquid, right? And then I’ll just drink another caffeine a little later. I’ll train again. And then it’s already nighttime, and you’re ready to eat... So then the day goes really fast, and you’re not hungry all day, and then you eat a huge meal at night. And then you wake up in the morning already full. So it’s actually not hard to do if you do it like that, I think.”

The pizza and pasta-lover will look to be dining with ONE gold in his posession come the conclusion of ONE on Prime Video 2.