Mikey Musumeci shares what he wants his legacy to be about when his career is over

ONE flyweight submission grappling world champion Mikey Musumeci is not just one of the nicest people you'll meet on the mats, but also in life in general. 'Darth Rigatoni' is one of the purest, most genuine human beings to ever walk this earth. It just so happens that he's also one of the most lethal grapplers alive today.

He uses his massive stardom and global platform to advocate for the beautiful tenets of Jiujitsu and the power of kindness between humans.

In a very telling interview with Fightlore on YouTube, Mikey Musumeci spoke about what he wants his legacy to be once he decides to finally retire from the sport. 'Darth Rigatoni' put it in such wise and insightful words:

"What I want my legacy to be about is not about the matches I won or lost, but just the energy I have on the mat, the respect I give my opponents, the values I have or what I want to be left. And I want people to have those values as well. I feel like a lot of people in jiu-jitsu, they’re amazing, but they’re horrible people kind of, and their impact to others kind of is not good. Being a good person on and off the mat, I think I want to try to represent that. And I'm trying every day to be the best person I can be."

It's important to understand that Mikey Musumeci doesn't train and compete to fight and win medals or belts - but to live the life of a martial artist. His growth as a Jiujitsu practitioner directly influences his growth as a great human being. In the end, it's all about kindness and respect - both on and off the mats.

Watch the full interview here:

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Mikey Musumeci once lost his cool against grappling icon Geo Martinez

Despite always being peaceful and friendly all the time, Mikey Musumeci had moments where he, as he would say, let his emotions get the better of him. Despite this, however, 'Darth Rigatoni' showed poise and composure not common in anyone losing their temper.

The said incident happened when Musumeci faced 10th Planet Jiujitsu alum Geo Martinez at Road to ADCC event in 2021. Apparently, Martinez did a lot of disrespectful trash-talking both in the lead-up and during the fight itself. After winning the contest, Mikey Musumeci took the mic and expressed his disappointment at Martinez's actions. It was the calmest, most respectful "losing it" moment you'll ever see. He was just so emotional and passionate about the matter.

Listen to the post-match interview here:

The American grappling wizard has since then addressed the now-famous post-fight interview and apologized to Martinez and his team for his actions. In an interview with FloGrappling months later, Musumeci spoke about how the incident went down and why he acted out of character:

"I don't really care about the result of the match. So when I had my hand raised, I was saying to him [Martinez], 'do you think I care about beating you? Do you think I care about winning this match? All I care about is the respect, and like, how we are with each other...' So for me, that was more important than the match itself. Again, I was wrong in the end for getting emotional, you know. I just got interview at the wrong time. [laughs]"

Watch the full FloGrappling interview here: