“What makes me excited is to keep growing” - Mikey Musumeci explains his move to lightweight division at ONE 168

Mikey Musumeci talked about his upcoming challenge at ONE 168: Denver.

On September 6, Musumeci will compete in ONE Championship as a two-division submission grappling world champion. The flyweight king will attempt to move up two weight classes and defeat lightweight title holder Kade Ruotolo, who has maintained an undefeated promotional record.

During an interview with ONE, Mikey Musumeci discussed his upcoming co-main event against Ruotolo. He had this to say about moving up to lightweight:

"“What makes me excited is to keep growing. That’s what makes me excited, to keep training and learning. Fighting the same people in your weight class for, like, 10 years, that is not exciting to me. It’s a waste of time. But for me to do this heavy division where there’s so much doubt – can I do it? That’s what I love – the uncertainty and doubt and pushing myself and dropping my ego. Can I do this? I don’t know. We’ll see."

ONE 168 will take place inside the Ball Arena in Denver, Colorado, marking the promotion's highly anticipated return to North America. Tickets for the September 6 event, which will feature two world title fights, can be found on Ticketmaster.

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Mikey Musumeci looks to capitalize on Kade Ruotolo's world-renowned submission grappling success

Mikey Musumeci has become a massive fan favorite since his promotional debut in April 2022. The American holds a 7-0 record under the ONE Championship banner, including wins against Jarred Brooks, Masakazu Imanari, Osamah Almarwai, Shinya Aoki, and Gabriel Sousa.

Meanwhile, Kade Ruotolo's undefeated promotional resume features Tommy Langaker x2, Aoki, Francisco Lo, and Matheus Gabriel. Ruotolo also became an ADCC world champion and won the $1 million prize in the Craig Jones Invitational, making him one of the most respected grapplers on the planet.

Musumeci and Ruotolo could significantly benefit from a win against each other. Yet, 'Darth Rigatoni' arguably has more to gain, as Ruotolo is widely considered the future of submission grappling. Only time will tell if Musumeci can pull off the win and remind everyone of his world-class skills.