“I think it’s cool” - Flyweight submission grappling king Mikey Musumeci sheds light on his iconic birthmark

Many already know the true story behind it, but Mikey Musumeci has finally addressed his iconic birthmark.

Some fans often mistake Musumeci's birthmark under his right eye as a permanent black eye, and 'Darth Rigatoni' would sometimes play along if fans thought of it that way.

Musumeci, however, set the record straight on Instagram and even revealed a story of how doctors offered to remove his iconic face marking when he was a kid.

"🐶 BLACK EYE???? - A lot of people always ask me if I have a black eye since I was a kid! It's actually a birthmark 😊 although I must admit I used to enjoy making up fun stories on how I got this 'black eye.' 😅," wrote the ONE flyweight submission grappling world champion.

Mikey Musumeci added:

"I was offered to get my birthmark removed via laser as a kid, but refused because God gave me this birthmark and I think it's cool 😊😎"

Musumeci's birthmark ultimately became a literal part of his identity, much like how Brazilian jiu-jitsu became synonymous with him.

The pasta-and-pizza-loving submission grappler is one of this generation's best BJJ artists, with five BJJ world titles before arriving at ONE Championship in 2022.

Since joining the promotion, Musumeci racked up a perfect 7-0 record with five submission wins and became the inaugural ONE flyweight submission grappling world champion.

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Mikey Musumeci details why he decided to challenge Kade Ruotolo

Mikey Musumeci has a laundry list of super fights under his name, and the biggest one isn't far from happening.

The 28-year-old will go up three weight classes to challenge Kade Ruotolo for the ONE lightweight submission grappling world title at ONE 168: Denver on September 6 at Ball Arena.

In an interview with Ariel Helwani at The MMA Hour, Musumeci recounted why he decided to face Ruotolo in a massive super fight.

"My goal is to be the best I could be. So how do I do that? I have to fight the best people. Going up in weight is what's going to make me better. I'm always looking for adrenaline and new dopamine highs. So I'm a drug junk junkie. I'm just searching for those new highs. So I'll definitely get a lot of chemicals from this."