“That'd be a dream match for me” - Mikey Musumeci hoping to make a superfight with Demetrious Johnson work
ONE Championship submission grappling star Mikey Musumeci is mere hours away from the opportunity to etch his name in the history books at the promotion’s highly anticipated ONE on Prime Video 2 event.
The man called ‘Darth Rigatoni’ will step into the circle for the second time against a familiar opponent, Cleber Sousa. The two men will square off to become the inaugural ONE flyweight submission grappling world champion.
Before stepping into the circle for his sophomore appearance, Mikey Musumeci spoke with ONE Championship about his interest in facing ONE flyweight world champion Demetrious Johnson in a superfight, of sorts.
“I feel like that would bring a lot of new faces to watching jiu-jitsu. And 'Mighty Mouse' is such a martial artist, a true legend. He challenged himself in Muay Thai, he keeps challenging himself in different ways. He's the GOAT of MMA, and like, it would be an honor to have a match with him. That'd be a dream match for me. However, the format has to be [different] for it to happen, we could figure it out. But that would be so cool.”
‘Mighty Mouse’ made history in the ONE on Prime Video 1 headliner, defeating Adriano Moraes with a highlight reel fourth-round knockout to capture his first ONE world championship.
Should Mikey Musumeci capture gold himself at ONE on Prime Video 2, perhaps a unique champion vs. champion showdown could be in order.
Mikey Musumeci on his opponent at ONE on Prime Video 2
When Mikey Musumeci meets Cleber Sousa for the ONE flyweight submission grappling world championship, it will be a rubber match almost five years in the making. The two Brazilian jiu-jitsu warriors have met on two separate occasions, both occurring earlier in their grappling careers.
The two first met at the 2017 IBJJF Pan American Jiu-Jitsu Championship, with Sousa earning a decision victory. Just one month later, the two met again at the 2017 Abu Dhabi World Professional Jiu-Jitsu Championship. This time, ‘Darth Rigatoni’ scored the victory via points.
Speaking to ONE, Musumeci gave his thoughts on Sousa and the impending world title clash:
“He’s a tough guy, just a really tough, solid guy. Like, he’s one of those guys who’s really hard to do things to. It doesn’t matter what you’re doing to him – he’s just solid and tough. And he doesn’t give up, he pushes forward, he pushes the pace, he tries to break you mentally.”