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Reigning and undisputed ONE flyweight submission grappling world champion ‘Darth Rigatoni’ Mikey Musumeci is one of the hardest workers in any room.
The 27-year-old Evolve MMA representative is known to spend all day in the gym, working on his skills and perfecting his craft. He is notorious for training 12 straight hours on a daily basis. As a result, Musumeci is one of the most technically sound grapplers in the sport.
But even he was no match for Muay Thai training, which he equates to the experience of dying.
Speaking to ONE Championship in a recent interview, Musumeci talked about his recent Muay Thai training exploits, and how it has shocked his body for the better.
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‘Darth Rigatoni’ said:
“Dude, you die. It’s like pure power and sprints. Every punch and kick is 100 percent power. So then you do jiu-jitsu training and you’re laughing. There’s nothing harder than that on your body.”
Musumeci has recently made visits to Thailand, where he has been seen training with people like reigning ONE featherweight Muay Thai world champion Tawanchai PK Saenchai, former ONE bantamweight Muay Thai world champion and legend Nong-O Hama, and former ONE featherweight kickboxing world champion Superbon Singha Mawynn.
He’s even sparked an unlikely friendship with ONE flyweight Muay Thai world champion ‘The Iron Man’ Rodtang Jitmuangnon, as the two have been spotted singing karaoke together in their free time.
Why is Musumeci spending so much time and effort learning the ins and outs of ‘the art of eight limbs’?
‘Darth Rigatoni’ has expressed his desire to make a transition to mixed martial arts somewhere down the line. The 27-year-old, however, says he is taking his time to get his striking to a comfortable level before making the massive leap over to MMA.
Of course, training with absolute killers in the Muay Thai realm, in the spiritual birthplace of the discipline, is a great starting point and should set Musumeci up for success.
