Mikey Musumeci says ONE Championship’s viewership gives combat sports fans a chance to enjoy jiu-jitsu

According to Mikey Musumeci, jiu-jitsu being a not-so-well-known sport, is now a thing of the past. The grappling prodigy praised ONE Championship for putting the sport on the map so it can be enjoyed by sports fans all across the world.

Musumeci made a statement in his ONE grappling debut, submitting Japanese legend Masakazu Imanari earlier this year. The Jiu-Jitsu Times reported that the match alone garnered twenty-one million views, breaking records at all-time highs in viewership for jiu-jitsu.

Watch the match below:

Typically, on a smaller platform, jiu-jitsu only reaches about one million views, but under ONE Championship, the sky's the limit for the new wave of jiu-jitsu athletes and their sport.

Speaking to ONE, ‘Darth Rigatoni’ broke down how proud he is to be competing on the grand stage:

“This is the biggest platform jiu-jitsu has ever seen. The biggest thing is the viewership that ONE has, you know. And now it's on Amazon Prime. The publicity on the platform itself is insane. And being on a platform, with so many other martial arts, like mixed martial arts, MuayThai, and kickboxing, we're getting fans that would never watch jiu-jitsu in their life. To see a jiu-jitsu match, you know, and they can appreciate it.”

Mikey Musumeci has another opportunity to bring in sports fans and make jiu-jitsu history once again. On September 30, the five-time IBJJF world champion is expected to return to the ring to fight for the inaugural ONE flyweight submission grappling world title.

He squares off against long-time rival and ONE newcomer Cleber Sousa, with whom he shares one victory and one loss. Expect millions of more fans to tune in to watch the ten-minute rubber match unfold on Prime Video 2.

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Not pursuing jiu-jitsu would’ve been a waste of talent, says Mikey Musumeci

Now that the martial arts world recognizes Mikey Musumeci’s name, it’s difficult to imagine a world without him.

Musumeci was a straight-A student with a lot of potential to become a successful hot-shot lawyer. But through his faith, he slowly realized that a different path had been set for him and that he only had one chance to make it happen.

He told ONE Championship:

“I had a full scholarship to law school in Las Vegas, and I didn’t take it because I wanted to follow my passion. I feel that God gave me this gift in jiu-jitsu. I do not know if he gave me the gift of jiu-jitsu itself or the gift of work ethic. I think both work hand in hand, and I felt that I didn’t want to waste it.”

The 26-year-old prodigy has not regretted his decision since then. Considered one of the best jiu-jitsu specialists of his generation, Musumeci believes there’s still more work to be done.

Watch Mikey Musumeci attempt to take home the first ONE flyweight submission grappling world title on Friday, September 30, at the Singapore Indoor Stadium.