“I consider it like a lab experiment” - Mikey Musumeci explains how he discovers new techniques

Multi-time Brazilian jiu-jitsu world champion Mikey Musumeci will be the very first to tell you he’s a complete jiu-jitsu nerd.

‘Darth Rigatoni’ is obsessed with the minute details and the intricacies of every inch of movement in the ‘gentle art.’ So much so that he considers his fighting style sort of like a science project. There’s a kind of cerebral grappling style the 26-year-old employs each time he steps on the mats.

In an interview with ONE Championship, Mikey Musumeci talked about his specific methods of testing out new techniques and situations in order to produce the desired results in his matches:

“I like training with very few people. I'll train with like five or six controlled people. I consider it like a lab experiment almost. And I'll be doing a move, and then I'll slowly keep changing my partner's reaction. Like, instead of doing this, do this, this stops what I'm doing. Then I'll have to adjust what I'm doing. So I'm constantly changing my partner's reactions and making them able to stop the moves I'm doing, so then I can't just keep doing the same move. And that keeps making me have to improve.”

That very technical grappling style was on full display when Musumeci made his ONE Championship debut at ONE 156 this past April, when he submitted Japanese grappling legend Masakazu Imanari via a rear-naked choke just a little over four minutes into the bout.

The victory earned Musumeci a US $50,000 performance bonus, but more importantly, it won over millions of new jiu-jitsu fans watching the sport for the very first time care of ONE Championship.

Musumeci will be looking to replicate the feat in his next fight, with even higher stakes.

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Mikey Musumeci aims for ONE Championship’s first ever submission grappling world title

Without a doubt, Mikey Musumeci is one of the most talented grapplers in the world today. Moreover, the phenom will now have a chance to showcase those otherworldly skills once again when he steps back into the circle this Friday night, albeit with much more on the line this time around

Mikey Musumeci will take on former adversary Cleber Sousa at ONE on Prime Video 2: Xiong vs. Lee III, which will be broadcast live from the Singapore Indoor Stadium in Singapore on September 30 via Prime Video. The bout will be for the inaugural ONE flyweight submission grappling world championship.

By all accounts, the 26-year-old appears ready to go. Sportskeeda MMA will be onsite in Singapore to catch all the festivities. We ran into Mikey Musumeci a couple of times already and he’s looking absolutely shredded.

He told ONE in a recent interview:

“I’m here in Singapore to do two things - do jiu-jitsu and eat pizza. And pizza places don’t open till after the match. So I’m here to do jiu-jitsu with Cleber, he’s amazing. I worked so hard in preparation for this match and I’m so ready. I haven’t taken one day off in like three months, so I’m so ready for this match.”