“I just broke his foot” - Mikey Musumeci says he was dumbfounded when Gantumur Bayanduuren refused to submit despite injuries

It's a common practice for submission grapplers to submit once locked in an inescapable hold, but Mikey Musumeci found out that some would rather tough it out than tap out.

Musumeci was defending his ONE flyweight submission grappling world title against Gantumur Bayanduuren at ONE Fight Night 6 when the unthinkable happened.

Bayanduuren was locked in a nasty heel hook for almost the entire 10-minute match but never submitted to Musumeci's hold.

Musumeci went on to win via unanimous decision to retain the gold, while Bayanduuren suffered multiple ligament tears in his left knee.

In an interview with ONE Championship, Musumeci admitted that he was confused as to why Bayanduuren decided to withstand the pain instead of just submitting.

Mikey Musumeci said:

"Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Okay, that was weird. Like, I just broke his foot but he's still fighting. Now I'm like, 'Okay, let's go to an inside heel hook.' Now I'm starting to feel his knee start breaking."

Musumeci has gone on to establish a perfect 7-0 record in ONE Championship and chalk up five submission wins, while Bayanduuren paid a hefty price for his misguided perseverance.

He suffered multiple injuries in his left leg, and doctors who treated his condition described the destruction as akin to a motorcycle accident.

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Mikey Musumeci trains with Demetrious Johnson ahead of super fight against Kade Ruotolo

Mikey Musumeci is already one of his generation's best submission grapplers, and his next match puts him against another fighter who holds such distinction.

The ONE flyweight submission grappling world champion will challenge Kade Ruotolo for the ONE lightweight submission grappling world title at ONE 168: Denver at Ball Arena.

While training for his September 6 super fight, Musumeci got an unexpected training partner in the form of MMA legend Demetrious Johnson.

The ONE flyweight MMA world champion made a sudden visit to Faito Tamashii Combat Club and trained with Musumeci in Las Vegas.

Musumeci wrote on his Instagram Story:

"When the 🐐 of MMA wants to train gi, you put your gi on 💀😅 WHAT AN HONOR TO TRAIN WITH HIM 😭❤️"

Tickets for ONE 168 are available at Ticketmaster.