Look back at Mikey Musumeci’s BJJ wizardry in his ONE debut

ONE flyweight submission grappling world champion Mikey Musumeci will look to defend his throne against Osamah Almarwai at ONE Fight Night 10: Johnson vs. Moraes III on Prime Video.

Performing in front of an American crowd for the first time under the ONE Championship banner, 'Darth Rigatoni' will undoubtedly try to produce a highlight-reel finish.

Speaking of highlight reels, the 26-year old jiu-jitsu genius had one of the most replayable finishes when he debuted in the promotion last year. The young jiu-jitsu ace faced legendary Japanese grappling icon Masakazu Imanari and made it look so effortless.

ONE posted a shortened version of the bout on Instagram:

"Ever the tactician 💯 What kind of crazy moves will Mikey Musumeci display on May 5 when he defends the ONE Flyweight Submission Grappling World Title against Osamah Almarwai at ONE Fight Night 10 on Prime Video? @mikeymusumeci"

Coming into ONE 156 in April 2022, Musumeci entered the bout as a multi-time IBJJF world champion, while Masakazu Imanari was already considered an iconic figure in Asian MMA and submission grappling. The widely used rolling leglock entry, "Imanari Roll", has been named after him.

In a classic match that showcased two jiu-jitsu masters at the top of their game, Musumeci and Imanari immediately went into an intense leg-lock battle. After a dizzying scramble, Mikey Musumeci secured the mount position, but the Japanese legend found a way to escape into the bottom half-guard.

From there, 'Darth Rigatoni' magically passed from half-guard to back control in one swift move, securing an air-tight body triangle. Imanari tried desperately to escape but Mikey Musumeci managed to trap one of this arms inside the bodylock. Imanari had nowhere to go.

The rear-naked choke was pretty much automatic from there as Imanari tapped almost immediately after it sunk in. Musumeci would then proceed to face and beat Cleber Sousa a few months later to become the inaugural ONE flyweight submission grappling world champion.

Watch the full Imanari fight here:

Mikey Musumeci will next face Osamah Almarwai at ONE Fight Night 10, which goes down on May 5 at the 1stBank Center in Colorado. The entire card is available live and for free to all Prime Video subscribers in North America.