"I just let it out" - Mikey Musumeci says he unleashed authentic self in post-match outburst against Gabriel Sousa
Mikey Musumeci was very apologetic following his latest win at ONE 167 where he got fired up and emotional after getting his hand raised.
In his post-fight interview, 'Darth Rigatoni' let his fans know exactly what he was feeling.
Musumeci was last beaten by Gabriel Sousa three years ago and since then, he stated that Sousa has continued to taunt him and call him out despite being unwilling to drop down to flyweight to face him.
The ONE flyweight submission grappling world champion finally got his shot at revenge earlier this month when he moved up to bantamweight. He made the most of the opportunity and put on a completely dominant display.
In a recent interview on The MMA Hour, Musumeci spoke about how his belief that his fans enjoyed this outburst of energy from him because it was him speaking his truth and being real:
"Yes, a lot of my fans love seeing [this] part of me because you could feel it's authentic, right? Like, if it was me acting doing this, you would instantly be like, 'Oh, that's crazy.' But it was really me. I was upset. I just let it out."
Watch the full interview below:
Mikey Musumeci didn't hold back
As he also stated during the same interview, getting Mikey Musumeci fired up is one of the worst things you can do before facing him.
He clearly harbored a lot off animosity towards Sousa due to the relationship between them in recent years, where he believes he has been unfairly targeted and criticized.
At ONE 167, he answered the question of whether he has been facing inferior competition as of late by taking out a world-class grappler in a more impressive fashion than his other performances under the ONE banner.
If you come at the king, you best not miss because he certainly won't forget it.
North American viewers with an active Prime Video subscription can rewatch all the action from ONE 167 via the free event replay.
As for Musumeci, he is set to return at ONE 168 on September 6 to compete in Denver at US prime time in a grappling super-fight with Kade Ruotolo.