Current ONE Flyweight Submission Grappling World Champion Mikey Musumeci is one of the hard-working fighters. He is now preparing himself for one of the toughest challenges of his career. At ONE 168: Denver, ‘Darth Rigatoni’ will take on Kade Ruotolo for the ONE Lightweight Submission Grappling World Title. Musumeci is now eyeing a two-division glory as he moves up three weight classes to challenge the champion. 

The 28-year-old American grappler is known for his intense training camps. A true student of the sport, Musumeci constantly strives to get better at his craft. This time around, he is training with Demetrious Johnson and Brandon Moreno. He took to his Instagram to share a picture of him with a caption that read, “Legend training. Best flyweights in the world”. Let us find out what exactly he is doing to win the title next. 

Mikey Musumeci is leaving no stone unturned in his preparation 

Despite dominating the ONE’s submission grappling scene since his debut in 2022, Mikey Musumeci is hungry for more. Currently unbeaten in his last seven fights, Musumeci might just be facing his hardest opponent to date. However, it seems he is not taking things for granted and is willing to put in the hard yards. He has been working with ‘Mighty Mouse’ lately and is even troubling the 38-year-old. Johnson is currently preparing himself for the IBJJF Masters tournament but is finding it tough to get past the 28-year-old during practice sessions. 

Johnson recently took to his Instagram account to praise the champion. He shared a caption for him which read, “Well this was an experience there are truly levels to this game!! Thank you @mikeymusumeci for exposing me to them ooooosssss!!” Musumeci is currently training under the watchful eyes of BJJ living legend Rubens “Cobrinha” Charles.

He spends the first part of his week at home in Las Vegas before traveling to Los Angeles to improve his skills. When he moves to Los Angeles, his training partner is Corbinha’s son, BJJ World Champion Kennedy Maciel. The pair goes to war on those two days and works extremely hard, as revealed by Musumeci, 

Musumeci shared his current training plan and said, “It’d be about 10 to 12 hours total of the amount of work I’m putting in on these days of studying, training, everything.” It seems the American grappling prodigy is determined to win the second title of his career. Let us take a closer look at the clash scheduled for ONE 168: Denver. 

Mikey Musumeci and Kade Ruotolo all set to clash at ONE 168: Denver 

There are very few fights that have caught the attention of the fans like this one. Two of the best grapplers in history will battle it out, much to the delight of the fans. Not only is the ONE Lightweight Submission Grappling World Title on line, there is also a battle to prove who is better. Both fighters have achieved a lot in their grappling career and it is tough to pick a favorite this time round, especially based on their recent form after the pair featured at ONE 167. 

Ruotolo has now shifted his focus back to grappling after he registered his debut victory in MMA in the recently concluded event against Blake Cooper. However, he is all fired up for his upcoming clash against Musumeci and is leaving no stone unturned in his preparation. There is a lot of mutual respect between the two, but the hunger to beat each other persists.

The 21-year-old rates ‘Darth Rigatoni’ very high and during a recent interview with ONE Championship shared his honest opinion on the upcoming clash. Ruotolo said, “I’m like, Dude, this is one of the biggest fights in jiu-jitsu history.’ It’s just pretty crazy.” 

Are you excited about the upcoming clash at ONE 168: Denver? Let us know about it in the comments below.