Mikey Musumeci says he's 'ten times stronger' heading into Gabriel Sousa redo: "I've made huge leaps"

Mikey Musumeci believes that he has all the necessary upgrades and tools in place to put on a better display against old tormentor Gabriel Sousa.

The ONE flyweight submission grappling world champion moves up a couple of divisions to welcome the Brazilian submission hunter to the grandest stage of martial arts.

Ahead of his bantamweight fixture against the fellow Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt at ONE 167 on June 7, the Evolve MMA megastar took the opportunity to remind everyone that he's grown leaps and bounds since his north-south choke submission loss to Sousa in 2021.

In an exclusive interview with Jits Magazine, Mikey Musumeci said:

"So, I feel like skill-wise, I've made huge leaps since my last performance with him, and I'm like ten times stronger. So I'm technically way better."

While Sousa remains confident that he can double his lead over 'Darth Rigatoni' inside Bangkok's Impact Arena, it's hard to look past the American grappling wizard's perfect run under the ONE banner and think otherwise.

The 27-year-old has taken out world champions from sambo, BJJ, and MMA on his way to the coveted 26-pound gold and a 6-0 promotional resume.

Whether it was his submission win over Masakazu Imanari, Osamah Almarwai, or Shinya Aoki, everything Musumeci executed was done with inch-perfect precision.

As such, the self-confessed nerd will not leave any stone unturned, particularly with revenge on his mind, when he steps inside the ONE Circle to run it back with Sousa at ONE 167.

---

Gabriel Sousa in awe of Mikey Musumeci's run in ONE

Though Sousa asserts that he will fancy another tapout triumph over the ONE flyweight submission grappling king, he has nothing but respect for the American superstar.

In particular, the 27-year-old debutant has been impressed by Mikey Musumeci's performances on the global stage of the organization.

He told El Estudio De Leo previously:

"We've been watching what he's been doing. He's looked really sharp in his fights here."

Active Amazon Prime Video subscribers in North America can catch the two grappling wizards run it back at ONE 167 live in U.S. primetime for free.