“My opponent talked a lot of crap about me” - Mikey Musumeci explains reason behind emotionally charged match against Gabriel Sousa
Reigning and undisputed ONE flyweight submission grappling world champion 'Darth Rigatoni' Mikey Musumeci of the United States is fresh off an uber impressive submission victory over arch nemesis Gabriel Sousa last weekend at ONE 167: Tawanchai vs. Nattawut II on Prime Video.
The event was broadcast from the Impact Arena in Bangkok, Thailand on Saturday, June 8th.
Musumeci took hold of a calf slicer early on and cranked until Sousa had no choice but to tap out from the sheer pain. After the contest, 'Darth Rigatoni' took the mic and proceeded on a lengthy rant against his opponent.
He told veteran ONE Championship broadcast analyst Mitch 'The Dragon' Chilson the reasoning behind his verbal tirade.
Musumeci said:
"My opponent talked a lot of crap about me for about me for four years. Every time I won in my division - because I went up and competed with him, and he’s a beast, he got second in ADCC, right? I respect him so much, but for four years, he commented on every freaking post I did - I’m not trying to curse - talking shit - i just cursed again."
Mikey Musumeci on beef with Gabriel Sousa: "He did something personal to me"
Musumeci appears to have deep resentment toward Sousa and it all just came out. 'Darth Rigatoni' continued:
"Then he did something personal to me. And when he did this personal thing involving family, that’s when I got angry, and that’s why I fought him today. He disrespected me personally, and then I showed you guys that four years ago, I had COVID. The promoter [Who's Number One] forced me to do this event with COVID. And I didn’t complain about that, I didn’t say anything. I did it, I lost, and I’m back here now."
Fans in the United States and Canada can catch all the action of ONE 167: Tawanchai vs. Nattawut II via replay on-demand on Amazon Prime Video.