"He's awesome for doing this" - Mikey Musumeci gives high praise for Craig Jones' successful CJI event
ONE flyweight submission grappling world champion Mikey Musumeci is all about better athlete pay and more opportunities for grapplers to showcase the sport on a global scale.
As such, 'Darth Rigatoni' was extremely pleased by the massive turnout of the inaugural Craig Jones Invitational (CJI) event last weekend.
In a recent interview with Cageside Press on YouTube, Musumeci sang praises for the man who made it all happen, B-Team founder Craig Jones.
"Craig's event, I love it. I think he's awesome for doing this. Giving money to the jiu-jitsu competitors and what he's doing. I would love to do this event in the future. I almost did this time, but it didn't go through my match. So yeah, Craig is awesome. I love what he's doing with having fighters making money. It's so good."
After paying his dues in the BJJ circuit, Mikey Musumeci has truly blossomed into a global megastar in the world's largest martial arts organization.
The 28-year-old American has won several performance bonuses after his perfect 7-0 run that includes three world title defenses.
Being the awesome person that he is, Musumeci is certainly happy that his fellow grapplers are also given more opportunities to share the limelight.
Watch the full interview:
Mikey Musumeci will take on CJI's under 80kg champion
It just so happens that Kade Ruotolo, the reigning ONE lightweight submission grappling world champion, was the last man standing in the CJI's stacked under 80kg bracket.
He'll also be Mikey Musumeci's next adversary, as the pair of world-class scrappers will throw down in a grappling super fight at ONE 168: Denver.
The victor will leave Ball Arena with the lightweight submission grappling crown and all the bragging rights in the world.
Despite being at an obvious size disadvantage, 'Darth Rigatoni' says he'll give Ruotolo everything he's got. Musumeci told ONE:
"My whole game is attacking. Like, I don’t know how not to attack. I’m gonna go for the kill with Kade every second. It’s scary. It’s crazy."
Tickets for ONE 168: Denver are available via Ticketmaster