Mikey Musumeci enters Shinya Aoki match with the same mentality vs. Jarred Brooks: “If I don't submit him, I lose”

Mikey Musumeci believes anything short of scoring a submission against Shinya Aoki at ONE Fight Night 15 is unacceptable.

After scoring five impressive wins under the ONE Championship banner, including a submission victory over ONE strawweight MMA world champion Jarred Brooks, ‘Darth Rigatoni’ will look to add another big name to his resume when he steps inside the legendary Lumpinee Boxing Stadium for an openweight submission showdown against Japanese legend Shinya Aoki.

Speaking with the South China Morning Post hours before his highly anticipated return to the Mecca of Muay Thai, Mikey Musumeci discussed the immense pressure he puts on himself to finish every opponent that steps on the mat with him.

“I have a lot of pressure to finish Shinya. It's not like I just want to win, right? Every match I go into, if I don't submit the person I feel like I lost,” Musumeci said. “I don't really care about the result. I care about myself. I'm very hard on myself. That's how I fought my last fight. If I don't submit Jarred Brooks, I lose. I feel like with Shinya, if I don't submit him, I lose.

“It's no disrespect to Shinya. It's just that I put a lot of pressure on myself to be better and keep growing as an athlete. He's a very tough guy to submit and he's very smart and tough. So I have to really push myself and I'm just going to give it my all.”

Finishing his last two opponents inside the Circle, Mikey Musumeci has looked better than ever. But the New Jersey native will be in for a tough test as he meets one of Japan's most beloved mixed martial artists.

Will Shinya Aoki’s size and experience be the difference maker this Friday night, or will Mikey Musumeci keep the streak alive and collect his sixth straight W?

Amazon Prime Video subscribers in North America can catch all the action at ONE Fight Night 15: Le vs. Freymanov on Prime Video live and for free in U.S. primetime on October 6.