ONE Flyweight Submission Grappling World Champion Mikey Musumeci has one eye on mixed martial arts while he continues to dominate the grappling world.
“Darth Rigatoni” is unbeaten in his six-fight run with ONE Championship and claimed the inaugural flyweight submission grappling strap with a win over Cleber Sousa in their trilogy match back in October 2022.
Shinya Aoki just got submitted with the submission he invented by Mikey Musumeci pic.twitter.com/wCpi8MT0HM
— Bloody Elbow (@BloodyElbow) October 7, 2023
Now, Musumeci is working toward an MMA debut of his own and recently revealed a possible timeline for the highly anticipated switch.
“Maybe at the end of 2024,” Musumeci told Sports Illustrated. “I want to slowly learn and keep progressing. Once I’m a high-level blue belt, I’ll be ready. I need more preparation to determine when I’m in danger. In stand-up, I’d put myself in positions where I could get knocked out, and I wouldn’t know. I need more time to study and progress.”
Most recently, the 27-year-old defeated Japanese MMA legend Shinya Aoki in an openweight submission grappling contest, using “Tobikan Judan’s” signature heel hook against himself to clinch the victory.
Mikey Musumeci trains under Muay Thai Gods Nong-O, Rodtang
Mikey Musumeci normally splits his time between his native United States and Evolve MMA in Singapore. But the grappling kingpin has recently added Thailand to his list of training bases, as he looks to add the Southeast Asian country’s native sport of Muay Thai to his repertoire.
The New Jersey native was recently seen honing his striking craft under the watchful eye of former long-time ONE Bantamweight Muay Thai World Champion Nong-O Hama at the training camp of former featherweight kickboxing king Superbon Singha Mawynn.
Rodtang and Mikey Musumeci doing karaoke together pic.twitter.com/qRbrQmKLe7
— 𝙨𝙞𝙣𝙤💫 (@sinoUFC) October 11, 2023
Proving that he is leaving no stone unturned in his bid to become a well-rounded mixed martial artist, Musumeci has also immersed himself in “the art of eight limbs” by visiting ONE Flyweight Muay Thai World Champion Rodtang Jitmuangnon at his gym in Bangkok.