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Brazilian ground game wizard Gabriel Sousa is expecting the very same version of Mikey Musumeci when they cross paths again at ONE 167 on June 7.
The debuting Brazilian jiu-jitsu athlete squares off against the ONE flyweight submission grappling world champion in a bantamweight fixture that goes down inside Bangkok's Impact Arena.
Already owning a submission win over the slick American BJJ savant, Sousa will fancy his chances against 'Darth Rigatoni', though he sees some major upgrades in his opponent's arsenal that do raise some alarms.
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However, he remains confident that none of Musumeci's best efforts will truly give him any sort of trouble as he narrated during a short interview with Vitor Freitas Comunica:
"Since his strengths are in his guard game and BJJ, I believe that there is no reason for him to expose himself by wrestling or by trying to do wrestling, which is one of the areas in which I have been developing the most in my career since ADCC."
Watch Gabriel Sousa's full interview here:
Mikey Musumeci will have redemption on his mind against Gabriel Sousa
Whether or not Gabriel Sousa's world-class skill set will hold up well against the in-form ONE world champion remains to be seen, though.
Musumeci has been collecting victories and submissions against certified legends of the sport since inking a deal with the promotion. And in a little over two years, the Evolve MMA athlete has evolved into the face of submission grappling today.
As history suggests, the submission grappling kingpin will undoubtedly bring his A-game into this contest.
Plus, with redemption on his mind, expect him to make this bout a long and grueling night for the promotional newcomer when they open a new chapter in their rivalry on June 7.
ONE 167 emanates live from the Impact Arena in Bangkok, Thailand, in U.S. primetime on Friday, June 7. Active Amazon Prime Video subscribers in North America can tune in for free.
