ONE 167: Mikey Musumeci's generous gesture after $50,000 bonus-winning submission of Gabriel Sousa
Mikey Musumeci chose to give back to the people who contributed to his victory at ONE 167 in what was a massively satisfying moment for the elite grappler.
The ONE flyweight submission grappling world champion was uncharacteristically fired up following his win on June 7.
After Gabriel Sousa submitted him three years ago, Musumeci has had to wait a long time to finally get his revenge and silence the critics.
Having chased the contest for some time now, eventually moving up to bantamweight in order to make it happen, he has been preparing extensively.
As a result, when awarded with a performance bonus for his submission victory, Musumeci took the opportunity to repay his coaches for the contest for all of their dedication and help.
A great athlete still needs great coaches and that is what 'Darth Rigatoni' has found in Charles Corbinha and Kennedy Maciel, who holds multiple wins over Sousa:
"For this bonus, thank you so much Chatri. And I'm giving 10k each to my coaches, Kennedy [Maciel] and Coach [Charles] Corbinha, each."
Mikey Musumeci will appreciate that bonus even more than others
Of course, getting your hand raised and earning a performance bonus, as a result, isn't something that is totally lost on Mikey Musumeci.
But as he said himself in his post-fight interview inside the cage, this contest wasn't about earning money by showcasing his skills.
The motivation for this contest was all personal for Musumeci after he felt disrespected by Sousa since their first meeting in 2021.
You can't find many people in the world who can say they have submitted 'Darth Rigatoni' but this defeat has only made him stronger and he proved that on June 7 at the Impact Arena.
The win was always the most important factor but getting the submission in dominant fashion and earning a bonus will have only made it that much sweeter.
ONE 167 is available to watch back in full for free via Prime Video for United States and Canadian fans.