Mikey Musumeci says entered a new level under ‘Cobrinha’ Charles’ tutelage: “I feel years ahead of what other people are doing”
For his upcoming bid to become a double ONE world champion, flyweight submission grappling king Mikey Musumeci has sought the help of one of the BJJ greats in Rubens 'Cobrinha' Charles and his world champion son Kennedy Maciel.
'Darth Rigatoni' will challenge ONE lightweight submisison grappling world champion Kade Ruotolo for his belt at ONE 168 in Denver, Colorado, U.S.A. on Sept. 6.
It will be the co-headlining match of the event, happening at the Ball Arena and airing live and for free in U.S. primetime to North American fans with an active Amazon Prime Video subscription.
In an interview with ONE Championship, Mikey Musumeci shared how he is learning a lot from his training sessions with Charles and Maciel in Los Angeles while providing details on the dynamics they have.
The 28-year-old American champion said:
"[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."
At ONE 168: Denver, Mikey Musumeci will be climbing three weight classes higher from his traditional lane of flyweight to realize his goal of becoming one of the elite double world champions under ONE Championship.
He has been undefeated in seven fights to date in ONE, with his latest victory coming by way of submission over Brazilian rival Gabriel Sousa in their bantamweight grappling match back in June.
Looking to frustrate him is lightweight top dog Ruotolo, who is also unscathed in seven fights in the promotion and is making his fourth defense of his world title.
Tickets for ONE 168: Denver are available over Ticketmaster.
Kade Ruotolo expects a spirited challenge from Mikey Musumeci at ONE 168
While Kade Ruotolo is confident of handling his affairs in the lightweight class, still believes he has to be ready for the spirited challenge emanating from flyweight submission grappling king Mikey Musumeci in their all-champion title clash at ONE 168: Denver on Sept. 6.
The reigning ONE lightweight submission grappling world champion shared this in a conversation with MMA great and ONE flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson over the latter's "Mighty" podcast back in June, highlighting how Musumeci is among the greats the game has seen.
The 21-year-old Atos standout said:
"Again, it's just another one to put on the record. Mikey, a lot of people consider him pound-for-pound one of the greatest. He's had a lot of amazing wins over a lot of amazing people."
Watch the interview below:
Ruotolo won the inaugural ONE lightweight submission grappling world title in October 2022 with a submission victory over Russian Uali Kurzhev. The win thrust him to become among the noted faces in grappling in ONE Championship.