“I’ve Never Felt This Before”: Mikey Musumeci Shares Why the Incredible Pressure To Perform Is a Blessing for Him

Mikey Musumeci believes ONE Championship is a massive stage for submission grappling, and he has taken it upon himself to make the sport bigger than ever.

At ONE Fight Night 13: Allazov vs. Grigorian on Friday, August 4, “Darth Rigatoni” will defend his ONE Flyweight Submission Grappling World Title against strawweight MMA king, Jarred Brooks, inside the historic Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand.

Mikey Musumeci opens up on the pressure of competing in ONE

Musumeci has been competing on the mats practically his whole life, and he understands that submission grappling has come a long way, especially with the exposure ONE provides.“This platform is insane for us, as jiu-jitsu people,” he told ONE Championship.“We’re used to competing in high schools, and now we’re here. Like, the whole world is watching millions and millions of people. So, I’m just really grateful for this opportunity. But I just feel this huge pressure for me to keep jiu-jitsu on this platform. I feel like it’s all on my shoulders sometimes, but I’m blessed for that opportunity.”

Submission grappling is a technical sport, and it has taken some time for fight fans to warm to it, given that it doesn’t allow strikes. But ONE’s ruleset attempts to keep matches exciting by favoring aggressive fighters who constantly push for submission attempts, and the results are starting to become clear.

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It’s not easy to keep fans on their toes when they don’t see punches or kicks thrown, but Musumeci has done his best to put on electric performances that show the beauty of the grappling art. And while audiences only see the product of his relentless training, the American grappling prodigy says he is constantly striving to better himself and the sport he loves.

Pressure makes Musumeci a better version of himself

“At first, it was scary to me. Like, I’ve never felt this before. I have all this pressure. I have to perform. But now, as I get pressure, I use it as fuel, and this pressure, I’m grateful for it. I changed my mindset,” Musumeci said.

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“I use this pressure as fuel, and the more pressure I get, the more fuel I have. I feel like every time I get more and more pressure, it makes me a better version of myself. So yes, people [say to] me, ‘Oh, you have so much pressure.’ Yes, I do. But I’m grateful for it because I know it’s going to make me better, and I have to rise to the occasion.”

ONE Fight Night 13 will be broadcast live and free on Prime Video for fans across North America with an Amazon subscription.