“I feel different” - Mikey Musumeci confident he’s at the peak of his powers heading into Gabriel Sousa war

ONE flyweight submission grappling world champion Mikey Musumeci is confident that he will get the better of Gabriel Sousa this time around in their scheduled rematch next week.

'Darth Rigatoni' will battle BJJ black belt Sousa at ONE 167: Tawanchai vs Nattawut on June 7 at the Impact Arena in Bangkok, Thailand. It is a redo of their showdown in September 2021 in an event outside of ONE Championship, where the Brazilian fighter submitted Musumeci.

In an interview with Jits Magazine, Mikey Musumeci shared that he feels great heading into ONE 167 after what he described as a "fruitful" camp, where he got to craft a solid game plan to come up with a win and exact payback on Sousa.

The 27-year-old American grappling ace said:

"This should be a different Mikey than I've seen in years and I feel different. I did the homework, I did everything in school, and now I'm just so excited for this test."

Apart from redeeming himself from his defeat to Sousa previously, Mikey Musumeci is out to extend his undefeated run in ONE Champion, which currently stands at six straight.

For Sousa, he is out to make it a winning ONE Championship debut and build on his four-fight winning streak.

ONE 167: Tawanchai vs Nattawut will be available live and for free in U.S primetime to North American fans with an active Amazon Prime Video subscription.

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Mikey Musumeci expects an 'evolved' Gabriel Sousa at ONE 167

While he expects to perform better in his rematch against Gabriel Sousa at ONE 167 on June 7, Mikey Musumeci, too, sees an opponent who has evolved as a fighter and an even more potent competitor.

He shared this in the same interview with Jits Magazine, highlighting how Sousa from what he has seen and studied has shored up his skills since they last met nearly three years ago.

Mikey Musumeci said:

"Gabriel is way better now too since we've both had a lot of year, so he's technically developed more and I've technically developed more so I'm just so excited now to see where I'm at progress-wise."

Musumeci lost to Sousa in September 2021, some seven months before he made his ONE Championship debut. It was his last defeat and has gone nine matches without losing since, including the last six in the Home of Martial Arts.