"Who stole Mikey's pizza" - Fans equally afraid and in love with Mikey Musumeci's intimidation tactics ahead of ONE 167
Current ONE flyweight submission grappling world champion Mikey Musumeci is out for redemption against Gabriel Sousa in their upcoming bantamweight submission grappling match at ONE 167 on June 7 inside the Impact Arena in Bangkok, Thailand.
Sousa drew first blood against Musumeci in 2021 after he scored a submission win to go 1-0 in their head-to-head matchup. Ahead of this exciting showdown, Musumeci is trying to do away with his usual persona of being nice, as recently seen on ONE Championship's Instagram post.
The photo was captioned with:
"Four weeks out 🗓️ Will "Darth Rigatoni" continue his winning streak against Gabriel Sousa in their bantamweight submission grappling match at ONE 167 on @primevideo? @mikeymusumeci"
In the photo, 'Darth Rigatoni' was locked in, and his usual smile was not visible. This reveals a very different Mikey Musumeci, and fans love to see it. In fact, platform users @rylan_gutz, @ufcpicks_hormiga, @notzachbailey, and @terasankka back his new aura, as they commented:
"Who stole Mikey's pizza?"
"When coach tells you no pasta"
"He's going to win and he's going to make it look so easy it's gonna make you sick."
"I think your smile before the fight is way more intimidating. Dude just smiles moments before annihilation 😁 💪"
Mikey Musumeci sees world title showdown with Kade Ruotolo as the best grappling match of 2024
Although he is fully focused on his impending battle with his former Brazilian tormentor, Mikey Musumeci is also looking forward to facing the reigning ONE lightweight submission grappling world champion Kade Ruotolo on September 6 at ONE 168: Denver for Ruotolo's crown.
According to the 27-year-old American star, his fight with the Atos representative will be the best grappling match of 2024. Both are currently undefeated in the promotion and are expected to go all out on fight night.
ONE 167 is available live and free to all Prime Video subscribers in North America in U.S. primetime on June 7. The card will emanate inside the Impact Arena in Bangkok, Thailand.