“Just no point” - Mikey Musumeci doesn’t understand why Gantumur Bayanduuren didn’t tap

Mikey Musumeci didn’t see anything heroic about Gantumur Bayanduuren’s recent performance at ONE Fight Night 6.

ONE flyweight submission grappling world champion Mikey Musumeci put his belt on the line on Friday, January 13, against Mongolian sambo world champion Gantumur Bayanduuren. Despite winning by unanimous decision, the defending world champion left the stage feeling sick to his stomach.

Unlike all the other injuries Musemeci has seen in his jiu-jitsu career, watching Bayanduuren’s knee pop in and out of position from a leg lock was probably the most gruesome scene he’s ever experienced.

In the aftermath, the Italian-American grappler couldn’t explain why the challenger opted to risk a knee injury instead of tapping out. Here’s what 'Darth Rigartoni' had to say in the post-fight interviews:

“Yeah, I just think it was just no point, he lost anyway. For example, you're winning a match in IBJJF, where there are points and you're in a submission. You tap it out, you might pop your foot or something but you win the match. But if you're completely losing a match, and you're in full-lock submission, just not tapping, you're just going to injure yourself.”

Musumeci has received a lot of hate online for not letting go of Bayanduuren’s leg after hearing the pop. In his defense, it’s not the athlete’s job to stop the fight unless the referee intervenes first. Moreover, the 26-year-old kept looking up at the referee for some sort of reaction to stop the bout, but he didn’t see one.

Not seeing anything heroic about Gantumur Bayanduuren’s actions last Friday, Musumeci summed up his thoughts with the following words:

“What a tough opponent. What a warrior he is for breaking his leg for no reason.”

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Mikey Musumeci calls Thailand his favorite country in Asia after world title clash

Despite having a tough grappling match to start off the year, Mikey Musumeci said that he intends to return to Thailand and enjoy everything they have to offer. Since Musumeci joined ONE Championship, the Italian-American grappler has truly immersed himself in the Asian culture.

He’s learned multiple languages, such as Mandarin and Indonesian, during his travels and has even picked up Portuguese from his Brazilian teammates. After spending a week in Thailand, Musumeci also wants to include Thai in his lexicon.

Speaking to ONE Championship about his first experience in Thailand, Mikey Musumeci said:

“Oh this is my favorite country in Asia, I love Thailand. I know they’re going to have ONE events here every week, I just want to be in Thailand as much as I can, so I’m going to be in Thailand a lot.”