Mikey “Darth Rigatoni” Musumeci has his mind locked on his upcoming inaugural ONE Flyweight Submission Grappling World Title clash at ONE on Prime Video 2 this Friday, September 30.
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But he’s also taken a brief moment to consider what would be next for him if he can claim the historic belt over longtime rival Cleber Sousa.
Mikey Musumeci’s dream opponent
The Italian-American grappling specialist admits that should he win, he would relish an opportunity to test his ground game against one of MMA’s all-time greats, newly crowned flyweight king Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson.
“‘Mighty Mouse’ is such a martial artist, a true legend. He challenged himself in Muay Thai. He keeps challenging himself in different ways. He’s the GOAT of MMA, and it would be an honor to have a match with him. That’d be a dream match for me,” the 26-year-old said.
A dream is all it is right now. But Musumeci took it a step further by saying that he wouldn’t plan to use a hypothetical bout with the American legend to elevate his name into the upper echelons of the sport.
Instead, he would view it as an opportunity to share the Circle with one of the most talented wrestlers in MMA.
And if he had the chance to decide the rules, the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt would ensure a level playing field that would allow both stars a chance at scoring victory.
Mikey Musumeci visions a contest against Demetrious Johnson could be historic
“I honestly think me and Mighty Mouse would be the biggest match in jiu-jitsu history if we did that. We would make a special rules match, for sure,” Musumeci shared.
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“Like, obviously, because he’s a brown belt now, maybe we can make it where there are no leg locks allowed. And we can make it with some cool rolls, where it’s really cool for everyone.”
“Darth Rigatoni” has been vocal about how helpful ONE has been with bringing the sport of submission grappling to the eyes of the world, and how he wants to make it a positive place for his fellow grapplers.
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He believes that a showdown with “Mighty Mouse” would draw in a huge number of fans and help to elevate his sport overall.
“I think that match would just be such a huge thing for jiu-jitsu because we would have the MMA audience and jiu-jitsu audience together. All of us watching this match, I feel like that would bring a lot of new faces to watching jiu-jitsu,” he offered.