Mikey Musumeci says Muay Thai camp in Thailand gave him mental edge over Shinya Aoki: “It pushed my mind so much”

ONE flyweight submission grappling world champion Mikey Musumeci is always on a constant path of self-improvement, and he believes that mindset played a pivotal role in his recent victory over Japanese legend Shinya Aoki in their openweight submission grappling match at ONE Fight Night 15.

‘Darth Rigatoni’ pulled a modified Aoki lock on the inventor himself to force a tap at the 6:55 mark of their single-round 10-minute contest last Friday, October 6, inside the legendary Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand.

Simultaneously, the incredible performance warranted him an additional US$50,000 bonus and maintained his immaculate record under the world’s largest martial arts organization.

Apart from the technical skills that he already possesses, Musumeci has cited his mental fortitude as the main key to his victory, which he picked up from training and practicing Muay Thai for the past month since moving to Thailand to train.

The 27-year-old revealed this during his post-fight interview by stating:

“I’m a white belt in Muay Thai. I suck, but I love it. I love it. It's so exciting to keep learning like in jiu-jitsu. I think why my mind is so strong right now is because I did Muay Thai for one month. I think it's the hardest training in the world and it pushed my mind so much. I was not comfortable at all this past month.”

Musumeci fought Aoki while he was still recovering from a nasty food poisoning he suffered a week before this match when he consumed a street-cut watermelon that caused a high fever and even hospitalization.

He is also eyeing a possible MMA fight in the future but is still open to receiving any submission grappling challenge from anyone on the roster, particularly from reigning ONE flyweight world champion Demetrious Johnson.

You can watch the ONE Fight Night 15 replay on demand via Amazon Prime Video in North America.