Current ONE Flyweight Submission Grappling World Champion Mikey “Darth Rigatoni” Musumeci won’t be satisfied with anything less than a finish when he defends his gold against strawweight MMA king Jarred “The Monkey God” Brooks in the co-main event of ONE Fight Night 13: Allazov vs. Grigorian on Prime Video.
The BJJ phenom is now in the final stages of his preparation for that August 4 World Title contest slated to go down live in U.S. primetime from Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand.
For Musumeci, the bout comes three months after the finest performance of his ONE tenure – a submission victory over reigning IBJJF No-Gi World Champion Osamah Almarwai.
That successful World Title defense took place at ONE’s historic debut on American soil in front of a raucous sold-out crowd in Denver, and “Darth Rigatoni” is still buzzing from the experience.
He said:
“Competing in Denver was such a crazy experience for me. You know, it was ONE Championship’s debut in the U.S., so we had so much pressure. The American fans loved it. I’m from America. It’s my country. And it was just an honor for me to be a part of that card.”
Because he came out of his match against Almarwai healthy and unscathed, the New Jersey native was able to accept an immediate and intriguing challenge in Brooks.
Musumeci admits that he hadn’t considered a grappling match against the ONE Strawweight World Champion, but when “The Monkey God” called him out directly, he knew he couldn’t say no.
Musumeci recalled:
“I’m on Instagram one day. All of a sudden I get tagged in this video and it’s Jarred Brooks, the current ONE Strawweight World Champion, saying he wants to do a grappling match with me. I see this video and I’m like, ‘Wow, I didn’t expect this.’ But yeah, that’s how this match came about.”
Mikey Musumeci Sees Interesting Challenge In Jarred Brooks
A five-time IBJJF World Champion and widely considered the best American-born jiu-jitsu competitor ever, Mikey Musumeci will understandably be the favorite in his submission grappling clash with Jarred Brooks.
But according to the self-proclaimed pizza and pasta lover, his opponent’s MMA-based approach will present some unique challenges from his typical grappling-based challengers.
Musumeci said:
“I think that he brings a different element to this submission grappling than what people are used to. I think that MMA is a sport where they have to be finishers, they have to go to attack you in submissions.”
Indeed, Musumeci expects plenty of aggression from Brooks – aggression that’s been honed over the course of his 22-fight professional career.
It’s that explosive, physical approach to grappling that Musumeci is most looking forward to experiencing.
He said:
“What excites me about this match is, again, I love the feeling of uncomfortability — something different. Jarred’s going to give me a different look, a different feeling than what I’m used to with jiu-jitsu people.
“He’s going to come out as an MMA person. He’s going to come out with a different aggression. And I think it’s going to be very interesting to see how I respond to that, because I only train with jiu-jitsu people.”
The submission grappling kingpin anticipates a stiff test against Brooks but is nonetheless holding himself to a lofty standard.
Because even though “The Monkey God” has never once been finished in his career, Musumeci will do everything in his power to score the submission on August 4.
He said:
“MMA guys are always very difficult to finish, so I’ve just been obsessing about how I’m going to finish him. And I feel like I’m ready to finish him in any part of the match. The legs, the arms, a choke — anywhere it goes, I’m prepared. But again, I respect Jarred so much and that’s why I’m preparing so much for him right now.”
