“I feel ten times stronger” - Mikey Musumeci brings confidence, new skills to ONE 167

'Darth Rigatoni' is a perfect nickname for Mikey Musumeci.

The ONE flyweight submission grappling king has buffed up ahead of the fight against an old tormentor, Gabriel Sousa, at ONE 167: Tawanchai vs. Nattawut II.

In fact, during an interview with Jits Magazine, the Italian-American prodigy said that he was in a non-stop training mode for almost a year:

"I worked really hard, the last like 8 months f*cking I worked my *ss off. Like every second, I’m the most disciplined I’ve ever been. I’m eating correctly, I’m doing conditioning, so that’s why I feel ten times stronger than I was physically and I think that’s going to be a big factor in this match that my strength is a lot higher than it was.”

Musumeci and Sousa initially faced each other at Who's Number One back in 2021, but he had to accept a loss via submission.

The New Jersey native will now have to bulk up when he challenges Sousa in a non-title bantamweight submission grappling match on Friday, June 7, from Bangkok's Impact Arena.

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“Jiu-Jitsu is not like boxing" - Mikey Musumeci aims for continuous improvements

Before Mikey Musumeci enters a crucial rematch with his old tormentor, Gabriel Sousa, the Italian-American is thriving with massive developments in his skills and techniques.

To Jits Magazine, he elaborated in length that Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is a unique sport where one can continue to improve if that is the goal.

The reigning world champion said:

“Jiu-Jitsu is not like boxing, it’s not like MMA where you have this record. It’s more like you’re just training in the gym, you f*ck up and you lose in something, and then you just go again and you try again."

He added:

"There’s no brain damage, there’s no nothing, you’re just constantly looking for improvement. So Gabriel is that training partner for me now, to see if I have improved."

Mikey Musumeci, who's enjoying a perfect run in ONE Championship, will face Sousa in a bantamweight submission grappling tilt at ONE 167, which emanates from Bangkok's Impact Arena on Friday, June 7.

Fans in the United States and Canada can catch this event live and for free in U.S. primetime with their Prime Video subscription.