“It will be really exciting” - Mikey Musumeci can’t wait to grapple with Kade Ruotolo

ONE flyweight submission grappling world champion Mikey Musumeci is excited to take on fellow world champion Kade Ruotolo later this year. It is a showdown he said has long been in the back of his mind.

'Darth Rigatoni' will move up two weight classes higher to challenge lightweight submission grappling king Ruotolo for his world title at ONE 168: Denver on Sept. 6. It is one of the already-confirmed matches for the event, which will be ONE Championship's second live on-ground event in the United States.

During the in-ring interview following his latest victory at ONE 167 on June 7 in Thailand, Mikey Musumeci spoke about his slated title clash against Ruotolo, highlighting how it is something he has been eyeing as well as how it is rooted out of respect.

The 27-year-old champion said:

"I always ask to train with him, so why not just do it in front of a lot of people, it will be really exciting, you know? But also the energy we have with each other, so respectful. You don't have to be this macho guy like Gabriel [Souza] walking around like this (mimics chest out walking] with me the whole week. It's f***ing stupid! Guys, we're just having a match, 10 minutes, calm the f*** down."

Mikey Musumeci was a submission winner at ONE 167 over rival Gabriel Souza in their bantamweight grappling clash. The win allowed the former to exact payback on his Brazilian opponent, who defeated him nearly three years ago in an event outside of ONE.

The flyweight king was very emotional after the win after things got personal between him and Souza in the lead-up.

Meanwhile, Ruotolo, who made his MMA debut at ONE 167, will be defending his world title for the fourth time in his showdown with Musumeci.

Mikey Musumeci shares part of performance bonus to coaches

Musumeci's submission victory over Brazilian Gabriel Sousa at ONE 167 on June 7 earned him a $50,000 perfomance bonus from ONE Chairman and CEO Chatri Sityodtong, part of which he said he would share with his coaches.

The reigning ONE flyweight submission grappling world champion redeemed himself from the upset loss he was dealt by Sousa in September 2021 in an event outside of ONE Championship with his latest win.

Musumeci long eyed a rematch against Sousa, which finally came at ONE 167. To help him prepare for the important match, he turned to the guidance of coaches Charles Corbinha and Kennedy Maciel, who had experience competing against Sousa.

Following his victory, 'Darth Rigatoni' shared his plans for the performance bonus he got, saying:

"For this bonus, thank you so much Chatri. And I'm giving 10k each to my coaches, Kennedy [Maciel] and Coach [Charles] Corbinha, each."

The win at ONE 167 extended Musumeci's undefeated run in ONE at seven straight.