Mikey Musumeci shares glimpse of his game plan for Kade Ruotolo: “I’m gonna choose the exchanges”
Mikey Musumeci is keeping his game plan close to his chest ahead of his marquee title showdown against Kade Ruotolo next month in the United States. He, however, said he is not going to shy away from exchanging with his opponent and will match his attack after attack.
'Darth Rigatoni' will challenge the 21-year-old Atos standout for his lightweight submission grappling world title at ONE 168 in Denver, Colorado, on Sept. 6. He is looking to add the belt to the flyweight grappling gold already in his possession to see his double ONE world champion goals through.
In an interview with ONE Championship, Musumeci provided a glimpse of what he intends to do come fight night against Ruotolo, saying:
"That's one thing I'll give away. Every exchange I do with Kade, I already have in my mind every possibility of how Kade could counter-attack me. So there's nothing unexpected. And I'm gonna choose the exchanges that we do very wisely. That's all I'll say. Becuase, again, they're so dangerous with their counters, and that's why I have one million moves."
The Ruotolo-Musumeci super-fight will be the co-headlining match at ONE 168, which will take place at the 21,000-seater Ball Arena in Denver and air live and for free in U.S. primetime to North American fans with an active Amazon Prime Video subscription. Tickets for the event are available for purchase on Ticketmaster.
Mikey Musumeci shares 'battle' he has to go through ahead of ONE 168
Mikey Musumeci is determined to realize his double ONE world champion goals at ONE 168: Denver on Sept. 6 but shared that the road to it is anything but paved, especially since he has the tough task of climbing three weight divisions higher for the match against Kade Ruotolo.
The ONE flyweight submission grappling world champion touched on this in a separate interview with ONE Championship ahead of his super-fight for the lightweight gold against reigning divisional king Ruotolo in ONE Championship's second live on-ground event in the United States.
Musumeci said:
"A lot of sleeping, a lot of walking, a lot of sauna -- all these things I'm trying. I'm eating more sugar sometimes, too, because the sugar helps me sleep. Like, sometimes if I'm not eating enough sugar, I'll wake up starving still. So it's a constant battle, but, yeah, that's honestly where I'm at right now."
While Musumeci is fighting outside of his traditional lane of flyweight, it is something not new to him as he has competed under such a setup before, including his most recent match in June where he beat Brazilian rival Gabriel Sousa in a bantamweight clash.