“I feel January would be a better time” – Mikey Musumeci says early next year ideal to return to competition 

With 2023 coming to a close, it’s time to reflect back over the year in ONE Championship and you can’t do that without mentioning Mikey Musumeci.

The promotion has been committed to really pushing submission grappling to new heights over the last two years.

Alongside giving the sport a big platform by having world class competitors compete alongside martial artists from various disciplines, ONE has crowned four world champions in the grappling arts.

As incredible representatives of the sport, Danielle Kelly, the Ruotolo brothers, Kade and Tye, and ‘Darth Rigatoni’ have all had stellar years inside the Circle.

With three defenses of his ONE flyweight submission grappling world championship under his belt, Musumeci capped off his year with an openweight contest against Shinya Aoki.

The world champion has shown no signs of slowing down in any of his contests and for any of his potential opponents, his four-fight win streak in 2023 alone is a concerning stat.

In an interview with the South China Morning Post, Mikey Musumeci looked ahead to the future, talking about what makes the most sense for his return.

After battling through a tough and draining fight week for ONE Fight Night 15, the champion is back in good health and ready to make his return.

That being said, he is looking at coming back in the new year in order to ease himself back in a bit more:

“Honestly, I could be ready for December, but I feel January would be a better time. Just so I have a little longer just to like relax and just slowly go into it, not too intense.”

Watch the full interview below:

Short break from competition or not, there is no doubt that the flyweight champion will continue his momentum into 2024 as he looks to continue racking up wins under the ONE Championship banner.

North American viewers with an active Prime Video subscription can rewatch all the action from ONE Fight Night 15 via the free event replay.