Mikey Musumeci outlasts Gantumur Bayanduuren to retain ONE flyweight submission grappling world title

Mikey Musumeci retained his ONE flyweight submission grappling world title on Friday, outlasting Gandumur Bayanduuren via unanimous decision at ONE on Fight Night 6: Superbon vs. Allazov on Prime Video at Impact Arena in Bangkok, Thailand.

Musumeci pulled guard seconds into the match, while Bayanduuren applied top pressure and tried to pin the American flat on his back.

After a brief reset, ‘Darth Rigatoni’ found an opening to attack the Mongolian’s arms. Bayanduuren defended and the American transitioned to his lower body.

Musumeci quickly set up his signature ‘Mikey lock’ – a unique take on the straight ankle lock – but the challenger toughened it out and refused to tap.

The New Jersey native recalibrated each time Bayanduuren relived pressure from his knee, shifting to heel hooks and knee bars throughout the match.

Bayanduuren’s knee looked like it was about to explode numerous times. In a magnificent display of resilience, he hung on and finally managed to escape the world champion’s death grip near the end of the round.

Mikey Musumeci finished the round strong, sprawling the Garuda MMA representative’s takedown attempt. He briefly had a calf-slicer and ended the match with a dominant back-take position.

After 10 hard-fought minutes, the American BJJ ace made the most legitimate number of submissions and took home a unanimous decision victory.

‘Darth Rigatoni’ is now 3-0 in ONE Championship, where he also holds notable victories over Masakazu Imanari and Cleber Sousa.

Moreover, Mikey Musumeci’s victory continues Brazilian jiu-jitsu’s dominance over Sambo inside the circle.

He joins fellow BJJ specialists Rodrigo Marello, Kade Ruotolo, and Danielle Kelly, whom all submitted their Sambo counterparts.

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Mikey Musumeci says Gantumur Bayanduuren’s knee popped "20 times"

While Bayanduuren failed to dethrone the mighty Mikey Musumeci, he impressed a lot of fans and pundits with his incredible toughness in his circle debut.

Even ‘Darth Rigatoni’ was perplexed by the challenger’s unworldly pain tolerance.

The 26-year-old told Mitch Chilson post-fight:

“His leg popped like 20 times, I never felt someone’s leg explode like that. He didn’t tap so the fight kept going on.”

Furthermore, Musumeci admitted that he should have let go of the Mongolian’s leg earlier and tried other submissions, which he eventually did near the end of the match:

“Usually I get tunnel vision on a move then I get stuck there, but this time I felt his leg kept popping. How do I let go of a submission that kept popping? I should have let go faster and went to the back like I did eventually."