Mikey Musumeci speaks to the media during ONE Fight Night 2 press conference in Singapore on Sept. 28. (ONE Championship)
M
ikey Musumeci is set to have the biggest show in his career when he faces Cleber Sousa for the inaugural ONE Flyweight Submission Grappling World Championship at ONE Fight Night 2 this Saturday, Oct. 1.
While he is laser focused for the match, the man called “Darth Rigatoni” is also excited with the opportunity to face an MMA great Demetrious Johnson.
During the ONE Fight Night 2 press conference on Wednesday, Sept. 28, a media member asked if he’s interested in doing a mixed-rule super-fight with Johnson, the newly crowned ONE Flyweight World Champion, who is highly regarded as the greatest MMA fighter of all time.
In response, the BJJ World Champion said that he would welcome the opportunity to share the Circle with one of the most notable combat sports athletes.
In March, ONE Championship organized a mixed-rule super-fight between Johnson and Rodtang Jitmuangnon, where the rounds alternate between Muay Thai and MMA. After surviving a barrage of attacks from the Thai superstar in the first round, Johnson managed to take his foe to the ground and finished him there with a rear-naked choke.
“I think that Demetrius is an incredible martial artist, you know like he's the greatest of all time in MMA and he does all different rule sets so it would be an honor if he would take part in that match and we can make history together,” he said during the presser in Singapore.
“You know, I don't know, doing a mixed rule with him, I don't do any stand up or anything, but it would be really cool if you would be down to do a Jiu Jitsu match,” he added.
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While that opportunity excites him, Musumeci doesn’t look past his opponent that he has faced twice in the past.
The two grappling stars earned one win apiece and whoever wins the trilogy this weekend will be written in ONE Championship history as the titleholder in its submission grappling division.
“I’m here to do 2 things in Singapore, eat pizza and do Jiu Jitsu. And the pizza places here don’t open until after I do Jiu Jitsu. I think Cleber is a great Jiujitsu fighter and I’ve prepared for this so hard. So I’m ready for this. I haven’t taken one day off in three months [from practice], so I’m ready for this match,” the 26 year-old said.
ONE Fight Night 2: Xiong vs. Lee III airs live on NETVERSE, Vidio.com, Kaskus TV and MAXstream at 7:00 a.m. WIB on Oct. 1. The main card will follow on NETVERSE, Vidio.com, Kaskus TV and MAXstream at 9:00 p.m. WIB. NET TV will also air a same-day delay at 10:30 p.m. WIB.
This article was published in collaboration with ONE Championship.