“Let’s do it” - Mikey Musumeci trains with BJJ legend ‘Cobrinha’ Charles at his Las Vegas to ramp up preparations for ONE 168
There's no rest for the wicked, and Mikey Musumeci is as vicious as they come.
On the mats at least.
Musumeci is neck-deep into his training camp for his world title challenge against Kade Ruotolo this September, and he decided to skip his weekend break barely a month before their Denver super fight.
The reigning ONE flyweight submission grappling world champion will challenge Ruotolo for the ONE lightweight submission grappling world title at ONE 168: Denver on September 6 at Ball Arena.
In an Instagram post, Musumeci revealed that his coach Rubens 'Cobrinha' Charles traveled to his Las Vegas home to ramp up their preparation for the fight.
Charles, who promoted Musumeci to third-degree Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt, is a 12-time BJJ world champion and often considered one of the sport's greatest fighters ever.
Mikey Musumeci wrote in his post:
"What an honor to get to train with my professor @cobrinhacharles at my house in Vegas today!! ❤️😊 always learning so much from him! 🙏😭 Getting ready for my next match @onechampionship in a month and for @kennedy_jiujitsu [Kennedy Maciel] in ADCC this week. Let's do it 🔥"
Musumeci has been preparing for his match against Ruotolo since June, and he'll drive nearly five hours one way to Charles' gym Cobrinha Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu & Fitness in Los Angeles every weekday to train.
Bringing in the BJJ legend to his home gym in Las Vegas, though, gave Musumeci a different vibe to his training camp and some extra progress on what should've been his off day.
Tickets for ONE 168 are available at Ticketmaster.
Mikey Musumeci says training under 'Cobrinha' Charles has elevated his BJJ game
Mikey Musumeci is already one of this generation's best BJJ artists, yet linking up with BJJ legend Rubens 'Cobrinha' Charles pushed him to another level.
In an interview with ONE Championship, 'Darth Rigatoni' detailed how Charles and Kennedy Maciel would often push him to his absolute limits during training to create techniques that have yet to be done in the sport.
"[In training] then all of a sudden, I'll make an adjustment, then it's working again. Then Kennedy stops it again. So then we just do this over and over, it makes our level, like, another level. So it makes us develop things that I feel years ahead of what other people are doing right now."