“He was fighting great” - Mikey Musumeci cites Cleber Sousa’s defense as reason for not getting the finish

Mikey Musumeci threw everything but the kitchen sink in a bid to submit Cleber Sousa in the co-main event of ONE on Prime Video 2 over the weekend. But much to his surprise, the Brazilian eluded his grasp each time.

‘Darth Rigatoni’ still got the job done and earned the distinction as ONE’s inaugural flyweight submission grappling world champion after a unanimous decision win in their 10-minute chess match.

However, Musumeci admitted that the victory would have been much sweeter if he managed to put away ‘Clandestino’. He managed to do exactly that against Masakazu Imanari in his ONE debut.

In his post-fight interview, the 26-year-old Brazilian jiu-jitsu ace said he aggressively hunted for a submission throughout the fight. Although his efforts proved unsuccessful, it was his key to victory since he recorded the most fight-ending attempts, which gave him the advantage on the judges’ scorecards.

“I thought that he was fighting great. He was defending very well when I was attacking him. I had this mindset that I was going to look for the finish every second. And I was looking for the finish. But I knew that if I couldn't get the finish, I would just attack every second for 10 minutes. And that's what I did.”

Mikey Musumeci, a five-time IBJJF blackbelt world champion, is celebrated for his well-rounded ground game. However, it’s his patented leg locks that made him a household name in the BJJ scene.

The Evolve MMA grappler surgically attacked Sousa’s lower body and compromised his passing techniques by latching onto his legs every chance he got.

At one point, Musumeci felt like he had it in the bag, but his slippery rival somehow avoided the submission. He continued:

“I had him in one really tight heel hook that I usually finish, like 100% of the time, and I couldn't [this time], so it's kind of frustrating to me. But I think again, it was the adrenaline, and I felt like my arms got really tired the first minute of the match from that adrenaline, you know, but I'm going to adjust over time with experience."

Catch Mikey Musumeci’s full post-fight interview below:

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Mikey Musumeci had to shake off the jitters in world title fight vs. Cleber Sousa

Aside from Sousa’s defensive skills and bull-headed refusal to get submitted, Mikey Musumeci admitted that there were other factors that prevented him from getting the finish.

While he’s used to fighting under the brightest lights of the competitive BJJ scene, the American-born grappler said he was in over his head in his first world title fight.

He told ONE post-fight:

"A few things. I felt like I had an adrenaline dump being the first time, center stage for a title fight. I'm very introverted. So it felt like I was back at the beginning of competing, and all the things I used to experience all over again, times a thousand.”

Mikey Musumeci added:

“It was just such a crazy experience. I loved it. And I need that experience fighting in this [huge state], you know. Everything for me is adaptation. So I have to adapt my homeostasis now to fighting in a title fight, in a cage, in front of so many people.”