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Mikey Musumeci always went against the wave when it came to combat sports.
While some fighters would take great lengths to be as intimidating as possible, the ONE flyweight submission grappling world champion took the opposite route and stayed true to who he was.
Musumeci never showed an alter ego or a blown-up persona, he was just his regular self and those in the industry came to respect his mild-mannered demeanor.
One such person is Joe Rogan.
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The UFC commentator and podcaster recently showed his appreciation for 'Darth Rigatoni' in an episode of 'The Joe Rogan Experience' (JRE), and explained why he has such a deep respect for the American star.
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He said:
"That's why I love guys like Mikey Musumeci. He is a fascinating fellow, who, I had on the podcast, he's like the smiliest assassin. Thick glasses, only eats pizza and pasta, and he only eats once a day. Trains, no b*******, 12 hours a day, constantly drilling and going over positions with a big a** smile on his face."
Rogan added:
"He's a multiple-time world champion and he's f****** assassinating people."
Musumeci never shied away from the nerd label, and would even take pride in his identity, but behind his smiles is a lethal BJJ game.
The 28-year-old is a five-time BJJ world champion and is often called one of this generation's best submission grapplers.
He'll look to extend his legacy when he challenges Kade Ruotolo for the ONE lightweight submission grappling world title at ONE 168: Denver on September 6 at the Ball Arena.
Tickets for ONE 168 are available at Ticketmaster.
Mikey Musumeci details one of the secrets to his success
Mikey Musumeci knows that champions are forged from putting themselves through the most difficult of scenarios.
In a recent Ask-Me-Anything session on his Instagram Stories, Musumeci said his willingness to step out of his comfort zone played a huge part in his success.
He wrote:
"I just had such passion and desire to keep improving and getting better and pushing myself out of my comfort zone. With that, the results kept coming as an indirect result."
