ONE champ Mikey Musumeci relives battle with Gantumur Bayanduuren: ‘I really wish he tapped’
‘Darth Rigatoni’ reviews his performance at ONE Fight Night 6 and talks about his next potential opponent.
At “ONE Fight Night 6: Superbon vs. Allazov,” Mikey Musumeci walked out of the ONE circle having successfully retained his ONE flyweight submission grappling world title in dominant fashion. Still, he wasn’t entirely pleased with how he got the job done.
Even though the Brazilian jiu-jitsu phenom took home a clear-cut unanimous decision victory over combat sambo world champion Gantumur Bayanduuren at the Impact Arena in Bangkok, Thailand, he struggled to celebrate his win after badly injuring his opponent.
For well over half of the 10-minute submission-only contest, Musumeci had the Mongolian grappler trapped in a heel hook, twisting his leg at a grotesque bone and ligament-snapping angle.
And while it was an awesome display of the power of jiu-jitsu, “Darth Rigatoni” wishes the match would have ended much sooner.
He said:
“I’m kind of nauseous right now. I’m really sick to my stomach. I never felt someone’s leg explode like that in a match. I’ve been training for 22 years, I never broke someone’s leg that much. I’ve broken a lot of legs, but that leg exploded. I didn’t know what to do, and it’s just disgusting and gross. I really wish he tapped.”
Known for his amicable personality and gentle nature outside of the ONE circle, the flyweight submission grappling king was visibly rattled after the match.
Musumeci had expected his opponent to tap out and live to fight another day. But when Bayanduuren refused and continued to look for an escape route, “Darth Rigatoni” was forced to maintain his submission hold and apply even more pressure.
The New Jersey native added:
“When I compete, I don’t want to hurt anyone. I want them to train tomorrow. You know, I don’t want to hurt my opponent at all. So, I really didn’t like being put in that position where I had to break his leg.”
Musumeci hopes to face Adriano Moraes in Brazil
Now that he’s successfully defended his ONE flyweight submission grappling world title, Musumeci is naturally looking ahead to the next challenge.
On his radar are a couple of ONE Championship’s MMA superstars, specifically reigning ONE flyweight world champion Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson and former flyweight king Adriano “Mikinho” Moraes. Coincidentally, the two are set to square off in a highly anticipated trilogy fight at ONE’s historic debut on U.S. soil in May.
Musumeci has been angling for a match with Johnson for quite some time, but as for Moraes, the roles have been reversed.
Now, the 26-year-old grappler is ready to accept the Brazilian’s challenge and hopes to meet him in the birthplace of modern jiu-jitsu – Brazil.
“Darth Rigatoni” said:
“He’s a black belt in jiu-jitsu also, and he actually requested to have a match with me multiple times. So, I think we should just do it in Brazil. ONE is going to have their first card in Brazil this year, and I’m fluent in Portuguese, and I have a lot of Brazilian followers, also. So, it would be great for the Brazilian crowd.”
This story first published at ONEFC.com.