"I am truly honored" - Mikey Musumeci vs. Masakazu Imanari rumored for ONE Reloaded

Brazilian jiu-jitsu phenom Mikey Musumeci is rumored to compete at ONE Reloaded against Japanese MMA veteran Masakazu Imanari. ONE Reloaded is booked for April 22 and this particular bout will be a 12-minute grappling match in a cage. The news was first reported by Bloody Elbow.

Musumeci is only 25 years old and already has multiple jiu-jitsu world titles to his name. He won the IBJJF World Championship in 2016 (no gi), 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2021. Additional accolades include winning the AJP Abu Dhabi World Pro and IBJJF Pan Championship once each, and the IBJF American Nationals and IBJJF European Open twice. These achievements are exclusive to his time as a black belt. His titles leading up to being a black belt extend even longer.

When Mikey Musumeci initially signed with ONE Championship, he stated on Instagram:

"I’m so excited to announce that I have signed with [ONE Championship] the most professional organization in grappling ever. Spoke to [Chatri Sityodtong] for 2 hours today was the most insightful meaningful conversation I have ever had in my life. I am truly honored to be a part of this organization and to compete in Asia."

His grappling opponent at ONE Reloaded is a long-time Japanese veteran of MMA and grappling, Masakazu Imanari. Imanari may be best known for inventing the 'Imanari roll', a move used in jiu-jitsu. He began his MMA career in 2000 and now has over 60 professional fights to his name. Imanari has held titles in both Cage Rage and DEEP and is a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt under Marco Barbosa.

---

Mikey Musumeci gearing up for grappling in ONE Championship

Mikey Musumeci may struggle to compete under grappling rules in ONE Championship as he has typically competed wearing a gi. At ONE Reloaded, it is unlikely that the match will be in a gi.

Musumeci seems to be aware of this, as he wrote on his Instagram:

"I have been trying to work on the breaking mechanics of it in nogi."

Check out Musumeci's full Instagram post below:

The first all-grappling match in ONE history was Danielle Kelly, an American jiu-jitsu phenom, facing off against Japanese MMA veteran Mei Yamaguchi at ONE X. The second grappling bout was Dutch double champion Reinier de Ridder welcoming Brazilian jiu-jitsu all-time great Andre Galvao into ONE Championship.

Both these matches went the full distance and were declared a draw. ONE rules state that a submission grappling match must end in submission, otherwise it will be a draw. These are 12-minutes matches that are not interrupted by rounds.