Read about Mikey Musumeci’s dominant year in ONE Championship and his future title challengers. Find out who he wants to roll with next and his hopes for his sister’s championship opportunities.
| Event | Result |
|---|---|
| ONE Fight Night 6 | Defeated Bayanduuren Gantumur via unanimous decision |
| ONE Fight Night 10 | Defeated Osamah Almarwai via rear-naked choke |
| ONE Championship defense | Submitted Jarred Brooks |
| Openweight showdown | Defeated Shinya Aoki |
Mikey Musumeci has had a highly successful year, defending his ONE flyweight submission grappling world title and defeating top opponents. However, his intense activity has taken a toll on his body, and he plans to take a break before returning to the ring. He hopes to face Diogo Reis as his next title challenger and advocates for his sister Tammi Musumeci to have a trilogy bout against Danielle Kelly for the ONE women’s atomweight submission grappling championship.
Mikey Musumeci’s Dominant Year
Reigning ONE flyweight submission grappling world champion Mikey Musumeci has had an extremely busy 2023 to no one’s determination but his own. To start off the year, Musumeci put his world title on the line against Bayanduuren Gantumur at ONE Fight Night 6 in mid-January. He defeated him via unanimous decision before locking in a rear-naked choke win to beat Osamah Almarwai at ONE Fight Night 10 on May 5. Musumeci’s next defense inside the ONE Championship circle would see him submit ONE strawweight MMA world champion Jarred Brooks, followed by a win over Japanese legend Shinya Aoki in an openweight showdown.
Though Musumeci takes great pride in his accomplishments in what has been a highly momentous year for him, ‘Darth Rigatoni’ could not deny that his otherworldly drive has caused his body to quit on him – at least for now. In an interview with the South China Morning Post, Musumeci detailed the following: “I’d like to stay active right now but I was so active this year, I need a little break for my body. My body’s pssed at me right now, dude. It’s like ‘F** you Mikey, you did too much this year!’ So I need to rest a little bit. Ideally January or February [would be a good time for a return]. I feel March is the latest.”
Next Title Challenger
At just 27 years old, Musumeci has proven himself to be one of the best grapplers on the planet. Having maintained an unblemished 6-0 record with ONE Championship, ‘Darth Rigatoni’ next hopes to roll with Diogo Reis. Aside from his personal aspirations, Musumeci is hopeful that he will be joined by older sister Tammi Musumeci in becoming a champion as he made a case for her to face inaugural ONE women’s atomweight submission grappling champion Danielle Kelly in a trilogy bout.
