“My levels have just increased” – Mikey Musumeci says his technical ability improved exponentially this year

ONE flyweight submission grappling world champion Mikey Musumeci believes his skills have significantly leveled up since making his promotional debut more than a year ago.

‘Darth Rigatoni’ immediately established himself as someone to keep an eye on in his ONE Championship debut in April 2022.

He defeated Japanese legend Masakazu Imanari via submission just past the four-minute mark of their match. As a result, Mikey Musumeci earned himself an opportunity to make history by becoming the first-ever submission grappling titleholder in ONE Championship.

He capitalized on the opportunity, besting Cleber Sousa at ONE on Prime Video 2 to claim the inaugural flyweight title. Since then, Musumeci has added four more wins to his resume.

Speaking with the South China Morning Post, Musumeci said:

“My levels have just increased so much over the last year, my technical level, and the U.S. fans haven't really seen how much I've been improving because I've been fighting these random people here in Asia more.”

Though no official dates have been announced as of yet, ONE Championship is expected to run four king-sized events in North America in 2024.

The promotion made its long-awaited U.S. debut with ONE Fight Night 10 on Prime Video, emanating from the 1st Bank Center in Broomfield, Colorado. On that night, Mikey Musumeci earned a submission victory over IBJJF world champion Osamah Almarwai.

Who would you like to see ‘Darth Rigatoni’ compete against when ONE makes its return to the mainland next year?

If you missed any of the action or want to relive an epic night in ONE Championship history, the ONE Fight Night 15: Le vs. Freymanov replay can be watched anytime on demand via Amazon Prime Video in North America.