Stephen Loman on how he would have handled being leg-locked by Mikey Musumeci

Submission grappling sensation Mikey Musumeci once again established his dominance inside the circle with a perfect performance against Sambo world champion Gantumur Bayanduuren at ONE Fight Night 6 on Prime Video.

Defending his ONE lightweight submission grappling world championship for the first time, ‘Darth Rigatoni’ faced a tough test against a Sambo specialist who is all well-versed in the world of Brazilian jiu-jitsu. Despite his undeniable skills on the mat, Bayanduuren was no match for Mikey Musumeci. With his leg locked up for a considerable amount of time, Bayanduuren bit down on his mouth guard and refused to tap out despite being in excruciating pain.

Bantamweight contender Stephen ‘The Sniper’ Loman shared his thoughts on the matchup and whether or not he could display the same level of toughness that Bayanduuren had:

“I think I would have done the same if I could handle it,” Loman told The MMA Superfan. “I would definitely try to escape the dangerous position first. But the thing is, at this level, even if Gantumur escaped, he was still in danger. Mikey had him in a checkmate, because every time Gantumur tried something, Mikey was ready to adjust. The only way to get out of that would be something explosive, an explosive escape.”

Watch the full interview below:

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Mikey Musumeci is learning Russian from Anatoly Malykhin

An unexpected friendship worthy of its own buddy-cop film is the one between submission star Mikey Musumeci and Russian juggernaut Anatoly Malykhin. The two combat sports sensations from two totally different worlds have found a unique bond with one another. Sharing details on his friendship with Malykhin, ‘Darth Rigatoni’ revealed that the two-division world champion is teaching him to speak Russian:

"He’s awesome. He would break me in half, he’s so big. He’s so cool. He’s teaching me Russian. He’s getting better [in English]. He could talk more English now."

Anatoly Malykhin will be back in action on March 24, just three months removed from his ONE light heavyweight world title win against ‘The Dutch Knight’ Reinier de Ridder. ‘Sladkiy’ will meet heavyweight rival Arjan Bhullar as the two battle it out to be named the undisputed ONE heavyweight world champion.

Malykhin captured the ONE interim heavyweight world championship nearly a year ago as Bhullar’s return to the circle was repeatedly delayed by contract negotiations and injuries. It now looks as though the two behemoths are ready to settle the debate over who is the true ONE heavyweight king.