FREE FULL FIGHT: Mikey Musumeci's scientific submission of Japanese legend Masakazu Imanari in ONE Championship debut
ONE Championship shared the entire footage of Mikey Musumeci's promotional submission grappling debut.
In April 2022, Musumeci was matched up against Masakazu Imanari for his first match since signing with the promotion. The bout was contractually scheduled as a catchweight (65 kg) during the undercard of ONE 156, which took place inside the Singapore Indoor Stadium.
Imanari is a Japanese legend in the world of combat sports. With that said, submission grappling has evolved tremendously over the years, and current superstars like Musumeci have mastered their craft to become world-class competitors.
Therefore, Imanari was outmatched at ONE 156, with 'Darth Rigatoni' securing back control and locking in a rear-naked choke for the win. Two years later, ONE recently posted Musumeci's impressive promotional debut on YouTube.
Check out Mikey Musumeci's ONE Championship debut below:
Musumeci's second appearance under the ONE Championship banner was for the inaugural flyweight submission grappling world title. Musumeci defeated Cleber Sousa by unanimous decision to claim the throne and solidify himself as a primary superstar in the promotion's expansion into submission grappling.
Since then, 'Darth Rigatoni' has defended his world title against Gantumur Bayanduuren, Osamah Almarwai, and Jarred Brooks. Musumeci also defeated Shinya Aoki in an openweight matchup last time out to push his ONE record to 6-0.
Mikey Musumeci scheduled for two upcoming submission grappling matches in ONE Championship
On June 7, Mikey Musumeci will return to action at ONE 167 for his seventh ONE Championship appearance. This time around, the American superstar looks to remain undefeated in a non-title bantamweight matchup against Gabriel Sousa, the last person to submit Musumeci before he signed with ONE.
ONE 167 goes down inside the Impact Arena in Bangkok, Thailand. The event featuring two world title fights can be seen live and for free by American and Canadian viewers with an active Amazon Prime Video subscription.
Secondly, Musumeci is scheduled for one of the greatest submission grappling matches of all time. On Sept. 6, 'Darth Rigatoni' has an opportunity to become a two-division world champion when he faces the undefeated Kade Ruotolo for his lightweight submission grappling throne at ONE 168: Denver.
The Sept. 6 event represents ONE's return to North America. Tickets for the spectacle inside the Ball Arena in Denver, Colorado can be found here.