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Gabriel Sousa is pulling out all the stops to ensure that he is as ready as possible for his ONE Championship debut.
The Brazilian competitor faces a huge challenge on his first appearance in the promotion but fortunately, it is something that he has overcome before.
Three years ago, Sousa became a part of a very exclusive club in the grappling world as he wrote his name into the small list of opponents that have beaten Mikey Musumeci.
The 27-year-old earned the win via submission in their last meeting but he of course knows that 'Darth Rigatoni' will be better than before after making adjustments for their rematch.
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In a recent interview with Vitor Freitas Comunica, Gabriel Sousa spoke about how defending against leg attacks has been a key part of his training camp:
"There are a lot of athletes these days who attack a lot of leg locks, a lot of flexible guys who are focused on attacking heel hooks and foot locks. Here at Essential Jiu-Jitsu in New York, where I train, we are doing a camp very focused on what will happen in the fight."
Watch the full interview below:
Gabriel Sousa knows what to expect
Facing off with Mikey Musumeci is a problem that very few have ever solved but Gabriel Sousa has that accolade under his belt.
He knows what it is like to compete against 'Darth Rigatoni,' and with that in mind, it is no surprise that he has been specifically working on leg attack defense given Musumeci's track record for putting opponents away in this fashion.
Sousa is gearing up for another stern test from the dominant ONE flyweight submission grappling world champion who will be moving up to bantamweight for this contest.
Will it be revenge or repeat when they meet three years down the line from their first contest and the shock result that ended it.
ONE 167 will air live from the Impact Arena in Bangkok, Thailand on June 7. Active Amazon Prime Video subscribers in North American can catch the entire card for free live in U.S. primetime.
