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ONE flyweight submission grappling world champion Mikey Musumeci had one of the best debuts in the promotion's history. The young jiu-jitsu wizard faced a legendary grappler in Masakazu Imanari and made it look so easy.
Musumeci came into the bout as a multi-time IBJJF world champion, while Imanari was already considered a pivotal figure in the growth of Asian MMA and submission grappling.
In a classic match that showcased the highest levels of submission grappling you'll ever witness, Musumeci and Imanari went into an intense leg-lock battle right off the bat. After a mad scramble, Musumeci secured the mount position, but Imanari found a way to scoot into the bottom half-guard.
From there, 'Darth Rigatoni' majestically passed into back control and secured an air-tight body triangle. Imanari tried his best to escape but Musumeci managed to trap one of the veteran's arms in his bodylock. It was utterly beautiful.
The rear-naked choke was pretty much academic from there and Imanari tapped quite automatically. Mikey Musumeci would then proceed to face and beat his rival Cleber Sousa to become the inaugural ONE flyweight submission grappling world champion.
Watch the full Imanari fight here:
Mikey Musumeci appreciates ONE Championship’s effort to grow submission grappling
Winning world titles in Brazilian jiu-jitsu is not new for Mikey Musumeci, but his historic win for the inaugural ONE flyweight submission grappling world title was easily his biggest victory to date.
Following his coronation at ONE on Prime Video 2, ‘Darth Rigatoni’ explained why his latest win was different from his 5 BJJ world titles.
Mikey Musumeci said:
“I remember telling all my friends [that] all five times that I won [in] black belt [during] worlds was still like 10% of the publicity and recognition you get for winning one match in ONE. So it just tells you how big this platform is, and what they're doing for the athletes.”
The 26-year-old continued, saying:
“You know, we all work so hard and train so hard. So all these athletes deserve this recognition for how hard they train. And ONE is giving us a platform that we deserve. I'm just so thankful to be on this platform, and I thank Chatri so much for this opportunity.”
Musumeci and fellow ONE submission grappling world champion Kade Ruotolo will have massive targets on their backs as new challengers to their reign inevitably emerge in the coming year, especially with the promotion’s efforts to grow the sport.
