Mikey Musumeci admits he only got comfortable on the big stage at the end of his ONE Fight Night 10 bout

Grappling genius Mikey Musumeci revealed that it took him a bit of time before he got comfortable fighting under the bright lights of ONE Championship.

The reigning ONE flyweight submission grappling world champion is an absolute beast on the mats, but he admitted that he always felt anxious in his first four fights in the promotion.

It wasn’t until the finishing sequence of his match against Osamah Almarwai at ONE Fight Night 10 that Musumeci finally got the hang of it.

In an interview with the South China Morning Post, Musumeci said it was during the final moments of his submission win over Almarwai this past May that pushed him through his negativity.

Musumeci said:

“The first four times for me was very a lot of anxiety like I was super nervous. And then like, towards like the eight, seven-minute mark in my last match. I kind of like broke that nerve barrier.”

That change of attitude ultimately allowed Musumeci to unleash his uncanny personality during his last defense of the ONE flyweight submission grappling world title.

Musumeci defended the strap against ONE strawweight world champion Jarred Brooks in the co-main event of ONE Fight Night 13 at the iconic Lumpinee Boxing Stadium.

Before the match, ‘Darth Rigatoni’ promised that he’ll put on an entertaining match that would have fight fans at the edge of their seats. Musumeci did fulfill that promise when he dominated Brooks throughout the contest.

The Bangkok crowd, who were more immersed in Muay Thai and kickboxing, were cheering for Musumeci’s every move. Things then reached a crescendo when Musumeci submitted Brooks with a modified armbar 7:30 into the match.

Watch Musumeci's entire interview below: