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Former IBJJF world champion Gabriel Sousa of Brazil says he has put in hours of training to prepare for one of the biggest matches in his career yet when he takes on reigning ONE flyweight submission grappling world champion 'Darth Rigatoni' Mikey Musumeci.
Speaking to Vitor Freitas Comunica in a recent interview, Sousa expressed elatement at getting ample time to train for one of BJJ's pound-for-pound greats.
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The 27-year-old ONE Championship debutante stated:
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"I'm doing it a little differently this time. When they contacted me, the fight was 10 weeks away, but I was in Australia. I wasn't on holiday, but I was in Australia. I tried to train, but I didn't train twice a day, my body wasn't as rested, because I was traveling a lot. But since I returned to New York, and counting until the day of the fight, it will be eight and a half weeks of training."
Gabriel Sousa is set to lock horns with 'Darth Rigatoni' Mikey Musumeci at ONE 167: Tawanchai vs. Nattawut II on Prime Video.
The event broadcasts live from the Impact Arena in Bangkok, Thailand.
Fans in the United States and Canada can catch all the action live and absolutely free on Friday, June 7th, in U.S. primetime on Amazon Prime Video.
Stay tuned to Sportskeeda MMA for all the latest news and updates surrounding the event.
Gabriel Sousa's sole focus is on Mikey Musumeci: "It's easier to train"
Gabriel Sousa is used to competing in a tournament format at tournaments like IBJJF and ADCC. But in ONE Championship, he gets to focus on a single adversary.
That being said, it's one of the toughest opponents in his career in Mikey Musumeci.
He told Vtor Freitas Comunica:
"Sometimes you train for the Worlds for six weeks, but you have 30 athletes in your group and you won't study the game of 30 athletes. So, you have to focus on you. It's not that I'm focusing on Mikey's game, but it's something where you can get an idea of what direction the fight will take and do specific things. And I think it's easier to train for a single 10-minute fight than for seven 10-minute fights against athletes that you have no idea who those athletes will be."
