“You just instantly hit it off” - Mikey Musumeci explains how his friendship with Rodtang started

Both Mikey Musumeci and Rodtang Jitmuangnon have become best of friends since they met under the ONE Championship banner, but it started in a very unique way.

'Darth Rigatoni' first met 'The Iron Man' up close and personal in the backstage of their respective matches on the same card, where the former helped the Thai superstar to make weight for his fight.

Instantly, they connected in another level, sharing the same energy and playful characters in which both of them are known for. Now, the two are very closely tied up with each other, as Musumeci often visits Rodtang in his hometown.

The New Jersey native shared how his friendship with Rodtang bloomed with Cageside Press during an interview, saying:

"Sometimes when you meet people, you have really good energy with each other. You just instantly hit it off."

Musumeci also explained in short:

"So, Rodtang and I both have the same energy. We're both, like, little kids, like, we're little annoying kids, we both have the same energy."

Watch the full story of their friendship below:

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Mikey Musumeci shares his insights on submission-hunting

Nobody would ever face Mikey Musumeci on the mats without any preparations.

As one of the greatest submission grapplers of all time, the 28-year-old wizard has a perfect 7-0 record with ONE Championship, with five of those coming out via submission.

And in the same interview, 'Darth Rigatoni' shared how he was so aggressive in trying to force a tap-out from his opponents rather than only controlling them for points.

He said:

"I really believe that you lose if you don't finish the fight, you finish the match. So I feel like that definitely made me a finisher."

Next, Mikey Musumeci will bring this mindset to overcome Kade Ruotolo in their ONE lightweight submission grappling world championship match at ONE 168: Denver, on September 6.

Get the tickets for ONE 168 via Ticketmaster.