‘Relaxed’ Mikey Musumeci says he is in no rush to return to action: “I have so many years I could compete”

In 2023, Mikey Musumeci has had a stellar year and he’s in no rush to get back in there and secure another victory.

Coming into the year as the ONE flyweight submission grappling world champion, ‘Darth Rigatoni’ has racked up three world title defenses, including one win at an openweight match.

The dominant champion has ticked off some firsts this year, including a match-up at ONE Championship’s US debut event and facing off with a fellow world champion.

To cap off his year, Musumeci returned at ONE Fight Night 15 to share the Circle with a legend and pioneer of the game in Shinya Aoki.

Submitting the Japanese legend with his own signature move, the ‘Aoki lock’, the elite-level grappler hasn’t lost a step throughout the year and now, he’s looking to maintain that in the gym.

In an interview with the South China Morning Post, Musumeci spoke about his plans for the near future and when he wants to get back competing under the ONE Championship banner.

With no need to rush or jump back in for the sake of it, the champion is happy to take his time because he is aware of how much time he still has left in his career.

At just 27 years old, there isn’t much else out there for Mikey Musumeci to achieve and with that in mind, he will continue to sharpen his skills until the next challenge presents itself:

“I have this relaxed mindset. I'm in no rush to fight these people, you know. I have so many years I could compete, I have so many things to do that and I'm not in any rush. So when the time is right, people will see what I've been working on.”

Watch the full interview below:

North American viewers with an active Prime Video subscription can rewatch all the action from ONE Fight Night 15 via the free event replay.