“Time to find that inner child again” - Fans can’t help but admire the origins of Mikey Musumeci’s deep love for martial arts

Fans praised Mikey Musumeci after the ONE flyweight submission grappling world champion shared a video of him training with his dad at a young age.

Musumeci made his ONE Championship debut in April 2022. Since then, ‘Darth Rigatoni’ has become one of the biggest superstars on the roster by winning six consecutive fights, including five world title matches for the ONE flyweight submission grappling throne.

The American superstar has established a world-class resume by winning four IBJJF world titles before signing with ONE. Although he’s still young (27), Musumeci’s journey in jiu-jitsu and submission grappling started way before the spotlight.

Musumeci recently shared a video on Instagram of him training with his dad at a young age. The social media post was captioned:

“MMA training with my dad as a kid! Look at my double leg and thigh drag 🤣🤣!! Still the same Mikey as then, never will lose the inner child in me ❤️😊.”

Fans filled the Instagram comment section with praise for Musumeci:

“Shout to your Dad for honoring and supporting your passion and growth.”

“Awesome. Pops created a SAVAGE. 🥷”

“You've been pretty angry lately, time to find that inner child again 🙃”

“The success behind the scenes 🔥 congrats Mikey, you're already rich, and ain't saying about money. 👏”

“Love your style Mikey. You're authentic. Keep being you brother!”

“@mikeymusumeci you are so fortunate to share this passion with your father ❤️👏👏”

Muay Thai legend John Wayne Parr also commented on Musumeci’s Instagram post to show his respect for the submission wizard:

“Martial arts life 🥋”

Instagram comments

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Jarred Brooks calls for submission grappling rematch against Mikey Musumeci

In August 2023, Mikey Musumeci defended his ONE flyweight submission grappling world title against ONE strawweight MMA world champion Jarred Brooks. Following the triangle armbar loss, Brooks has vowed to pursue a rematch against Musumeci, leading to the following quote from an interview with Nicolas Atkin:

“You know, going back and thinking about it but I would love to still go against [Musumeci] in a grappling match. But give me six months bro, like you know, it’s like you gonna give Mikey two weeks to go against me [in MMA]?”

On March 1, Brooks will defend his ONE-strawweight MMA world title in a rematch against Joshua Pacio at ONE 166: Qatar at Lusail Sports Arena. In the meantime, Mikey Musumeci will likely be matched up against another worthy challenger that hasn’t been revealed.