Reigning ONE Flyweight Submission Grappling World Champion Mikey “Darth Rigatoni” Musumeci is set to defend his belt for the first time against Russian star Sayan Khertek in the co-main event of ONE on Prime Video 6: Superbon vs. Allazov on Friday January 13. The riveting contest will serve as the next chapter in the growing rivalry between Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and sambo – a series that currently stands 3-0 in favor of BJJ.
Musumeci, a BJJ black belt, has graced the global stage with two dominant performances so far in his ONE tenure. After capturing the inaugural gold in his last outing, the American phenom called out some top sambo athletes with the goal of proving that jiu-jitsu is the best grappling sport.
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Khertek, a 2022 Sambo World Champion, has answered the call. The Russian sambo specialist arrives with a lengthy and impressive resume, and he’ll be fired up to prove Musumeci wrong.
Ahead of this classic BJJ vs. sambo World Title tilt, we look at the three duels that have gone down between the two disciplines inside the Circle over the past year.
Rodrigo Marello vs. Ruslan Bagdasarian
The first matchup in the rivalry featured BJJ black belt Rodrigo “Diguinho” Marello and world-renowned sambo wizard Ruslan Bagdasarian. Both fighters are known for their immense submission game, and grappling fans were anticipating a tight battle in this contest that got underway at ONE 161: Petchmorakot vs. Tawanchai in October.
However, they got the exact opposite in the end.
Marello took the action to the canvas early by tying up his opponent’s leg. Bagdasarian tried to fend off the Brazilian’s hands, but he couldn’t prevent him from grabbing an ankle lock.
After just 15 seconds of action, the Russian tapped, securing the fastest victory in ONE submission grappling history for Marello, netting him a US$50,000 performance bonus, and putting BJJ one up in the series.
Kade Ruotolo vs. Uali Kurzhev
The rivalry continued when teenage BJJ prodigy Kade Ruotolo took on four-time Sambo World Champion Uali Kurzhev for the inaugural ONE Lightweight Submission Grappling World Title at ONE on Prime Video 3: Lineker vs. Andrade in October. Fresh off his title-winning performance at the ADCC World Championships, Ruotolo came into the contest as a heavy favorite.
But it was Kurzhev who did most of the work in the earlier exchanges, utilizing his movement and transition work to stay one step ahead of Ruotolo.
Unfortunately for the Russian, the rest of the contest was one-way traffic in favor of the Californian. Ruotolo consistently achieved dominant positions that forced his opponent to play a defensive game.
The finish eventually came at the 4:26 mark of the 10-minute fight, when the BJJ standout locked in a heel hook that forced his opponent to tap. Ruotolo left with the gold and a sweet US$50,000 bonus for his effort.
2-0 to BJJ.
Danielle Kelly vs. Mariia Molchanova
The latest showdown in the series took place at ONE on Prime Video 4: Abbasov vs. Lee, when BJJ sensation Danielle Kelly squared off against Sambo World Champion Mariia Molchanova. BJJ would again prove superior on this occasion, as Kelly eased her way to a win and a US$50,000 performance bonus.
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The American sat on guard and pulled her opponent into her vaunted closed guard. From there, she found a path to her Russian foe’s back and threatened with a choke.
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Molchanova refused to quit, though, and she took large chunks of breath while trying to find a way out of Kelly’s rear-naked choke.
When the sambo stylist eventually managed to take the contest back onto the feet, Kelly quickly slammed her foe to the ground again, secured her rival’s neck, and tightened the squeeze to gain her first promotional win and secure a 3-0 advantage for BJJ over sambo.
