“You don't have to go to MMA” - Mikey Musumeci explains what ONE Championship does for jiu-jitsu

Grappling star Mikey Musumeci believes you don’t have to submit to the pressure of becoming an MMA fighter when jiu-jitsu can stand alone as a spectator sport under ONE Championship.

The Singapore-based promotion is the only martial arts organization in the world featuring a variety of different combat sports on its platform. Recently, ONE Championship has put the spotlight on submission grappling by adding some of the best talents in the sport to its roster.

According to Musucmeci, because jiu-jitsu is slowly becoming more mainstream under ONE Championship, elite grapplers now have the option to stay within their discipline instead of crossing over to MMA.

The American exclusively told ONE:

“It really does make it so that you don't have to go to MMA. Typically, jiu-jitsu guys in the previous generations wouldn't be able to make enough money in jiu-jitsu. So they would be like, oh, I have to go do MMA. So now you're able to keep doing what you love, and you don't have to change to MMA.”

Mikey Musumeci immediately made an impact upon joining ONE Championship. He won a US$50,000 performance bonus for a highlight reel finish over Japanese legend Masakazu Imanari last April. ‘Darth Rigatoni’s’ performance broke records in terms of viewership by being the single most-watched match in the history of jiu-jitsu.

It is rare for jiu-jitsu practitioners to win such a purse after one grappling match or get the exposure that Musumeci had in his match with Imanari. As such, transitioning over to MMA may no longer be an inevitability for grapplers should jiu-jitsu’s rise in ONE Championship continues.

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Mikey Musumeci is excited to keep Cleber Sousa guessing his next moves

Mikey Musumeci is set to compete against former Brazilian rival Cleber Sousa for the first-ever ONE flyweight submission grappling world championship.

The pair met on two prior occasions in 2017. Looking to end their third fight with a spectacular finish, Musumeci has come up with a simple strategy to make that happen.

Speaking to ONE Championship, ‘Darth Rigatoni’ explained:

“My game is very straightforward. I’m always doing certain sequences, and I’m attacking every second, and my opponent, it’s on them. Could they defend what I’m doing? And if they do, it stops my position. And if they don’t, I get it.”

Tune in to watch the most anticipated grappling bout of the year as the two elite BJJ black belts go head-to-head to make history at ONE on Prime Video 2.