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Mikey Musumeci had to overcome some of his personal demons to win the inaugural ONE flyweight submission grappling world championship against Cleber Sousa this past weekend.
The pair of Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belts figured in an action-packed 10-minute display of grappling mastery. Their bout came as the co-main event at ONE on Prime Video 2: Xiong vs Lee III.
The bout ended in a unanimous decision win for the American since neither fighter got the submission. However, it wasn’t for the lack of trying, especially on Musumeci’s part.
During his post-fight interview, ‘Darth Rigatoni’ talked about the factors that hindered him from tapping out the tough Brazilian in their match. He admitted that the bright lights got to him a bit, and it’s something that he needs to get used to as he begins his reign as world champion.
"A few things. I felt like I had an adrenaline dump being the first time, center stage for a title fight. I'm very introverted. So it felt like I was back at the beginning of competing, and all the things I used to experience all over again, times a thousand.”
The Evolve MMA standout added:
“It was just such a crazy experience. I loved it. And I need that experience fighting in this [huge state], you know. Everything for me is adaptation. So I have to adapt my homeostasis now to fighting in a title fight, in a cage, in front of so many people.”
Catch Mikey Musumeci’s full ONE on Prime Video 2 post-fight interview below:
Aside from Mikey Musumeci’s personal conundrums, Sousa is just an incredibly challenging opponent to submit. The last time the two fought in gi in 2017, Musumeci also won by points.
It was clear that Mikey Musumeci wanted to send a message in the trilogy, as he explored multiple leg lock entries for the entire duration of their fight. Unfortunately, he couldn’t get the finish as the slippery Sousa managed to squirm his way out every time.
At one point in the match, the five-time IBJFF blackbelt world champion even took a break from his lower body attacks and threatened the Brazilian’s shoulder with a possible omoplata.
While ‘Clandestino’ was unable to break his foe’s unfathomable attacking guard, he refused to remain idle either. Sousa even performed wild cartwheel passes just to get by.
Regardless, the Musumeci-Sousa bout was an amazing chess match from both sides.
Mikey Musumeci is still getting used to fighting inside the circle
Since signing with the promotion earlier this year, Mikey Musumeci has traded the soft-padded mats of the BJJ scene in favor of ONE’s circle wall.
It’s another adjustment that ‘Darth Rigatoni’ has to make, but he admits that grappling in an enclosed space does have its advantages.
He shared in the same interview:
“Honestly, I like the circle wall because it makes it harder for the person to run away out of like, there's no out of bounds. So it keeps us inbounds. I actually prefer the circle wall, but it definitely is a new thing for me. And I just have to adapt over time. It takes me a while to adapt to things but I'm doing decent.”
