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ONE flyweight submission grappling world champion Mikey Musumeci believes he has the personality and mindset to compete in MMA and actually be good at it.
He shared this in a recent interview on The MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani, as he spoke about a possible venture into the multifaceted sport of mixed martial arts and why it would not be too much of a stretch for him.
'Darth Rigatoni' said:
"So I don't know, it would be a new puzzle for me, right? Because I'm constantly looking for new things to push myself with, and I think my personality being, super nerdy and wimpy. I think that it would really appeal to people as well to see that I could actually fight these like crazy MMA people. It would go crazy, right?"
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Watch the interview below:
It remains to be seen if Mikey Musumeci would follow through on his plans to also compete in MMA. In submission grappling, he remains undeniably one of the top athletes in ONE Championship.
He was recently in action at ONE 167: Tawanchai vs. Nattawut II on June 7 in Bangkok, Thailand, where he dominated Brazilian rival Gabriel Sousa in their bantamweight grappling showdown with a submission (calf slicer) victory.
The win was a payback for Musumeci on Sousa, who dealt him a loss nearly three years ago outside of ONE Championship.
Mikey Musumeci wants to try MMA but does not see himself staying too long in it
While he is interested in competing in MMA as well, Mikey Musumeci said he has no plans in staying in it for too long if ever.
The ONE flyweight submission grappling world champion made this known in an Ask Me Anything (AMA) session on Reddit last year in response to a fan who inquired about the possibility of him transitioning to MMA and Muay Thai at some point.
Mikey Musumeci said:
"I have aspirations for MMA in the future. I did Muay Thai over seven years as a kid, but I would have to relearn a lot. I am 26 now so I have many years to study and learn Muay Thai again. Definitely would love to do MMA, but only for a limited time ..."
Mikey Musumeci made his ONE Championship debut in May 2022 and has won seven straight. He next competes in September this year at ONE 168: Denver, where he will challenge ONE lightweight submission grappling world champion Kade Ruotolo for his title.
