Mikey Musumeci determined to finish Shinya Aoki: “I can’t be boring”

Reigning and undisputed ONE flyweight submission grappling world champion ‘Darth Rigatoni’ Mikey Musumeci continues to seek the biggest challenges he can possibly face in ONE Championship.

And this Friday, he will take on his biggest test yet, quite literally.

Musumeci is set to face multi-time former ONE lightweight MMA world champion ‘Tobikan Judan’ Shinya Aoki in an openweight submission grappling match at ONE Fight Night 15: Le vs. Freymanov on Prime Video. The event will be broadcast live from the iconic Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand on Friday, October 6.

However, the Italian-American star isn’t concerned about winning or losing. Musumeci just wants to put on a show and entertain the fans.

Speaking to ONE Championship in a recent interview, Musumeci said:

“A lot of fans think it looks boring, like it's different from what they're used to with the stand-up and MMA. It's my job to make sure that it's not a bathroom break for them when there are submission grappling fights on and they keep watching. And I have to finish the match, you know. I can't be boring. I need to get finishes, so I put a lot of pressure on myself every match and I really don't want to disappoint fans. I'm working really hard to make [my fights] exciting.”

Musumeci has been phenomenal since joining the world’s largest martial arts organization, with three submissions out of five total matches. Against Aoki, however, Musumeci could potentially give up 30-40 pounds in sheer weight disparity. Not to mention, Aoki is a natural lightweight, who has competed at welterweight.

That being said, ‘Darth Rigatoni’ can’t wait to put on a show. Musumeci added:

“I plan on just attacking him every second. I have to make sure of that. I can’t let this fight get boring. Every person I fight, their strategy is going to be just to hold on so that I can't submit them. So I feel like he is going to attack me though, you know, he has so many options and tools. He's a long, lanky guy. He's definitely going to hold my wrists a lot and we'll see.”

Fans in the United States and Canada can catch all the action live and absolutely free on Amazon Prime Video.