"This guy talked so much crap" - Mikey Musumeci admits he was fueled by Gabriel Sousa's disrespect

ONE 167 was no ordinary night in the career of Mikey Musumeci as he returned to competition inside the Circle.

In usual circumstances, 'Darth Rigatoni' is an incredibly calm competitor who goes about his business with a smile on his face.

At the Impact Arena on June 7, he had a point to prove, and this meant he was fired up to get the win and silence some critics.

Musumeci says that ever since his loss to Gabriel Sousa three years ago, fans and Sousa himself have expressed a lot of negativity towards him for various reasons.

The ONE flyweight submission grappling world champion has been chasing this rematch to avenge his loss to Sousa and show everyone that he is willing to face the best and has been this whole time.

In his post-fight press conference after submitting the Brazilian in a one-sided display, Musumeci spoke about where his added intensity came from for this contest:

"This wasn't about money for me. It was about avenging a loss and shutting up the freakin' media. I'm just doing my own thing, minding my own business. I'm nice to everyone. And people keep talking crap about me all the time. This guy talked so much freaking crap guys, that's why I have this energy."

Watch the full post-fight press conference below:

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Mikey Musumeci is not the kind of person to doubt

If there's one thing that this contest proved, it's that you shouldn't doubt a competitor like Mikey Musumeci.

Whether it was fanned accusing him of avoiding tough matches, saying that he will never beat Gabriel Souza or some other source of negativity, he silenced them with his performance on June 7.

As Musumeci said himself immediately after getting his hand raised, people have used his loss to Sousa against him for so long, and in the rematch, he made it look like there was a gulf in quality between them.

For US and Canadian fans with an active subscription, ONE 167 is free to watch back in full via Prime Video.