ONE's Mikey Musumeci Turns Page on Bittersweet Victory
The flyweight submission grappling champion knows exactly who—and where—he wants to fight next.
View the original article to see embedded media.
Mikey Musumeci dominated his last fight, tearing his opponent’s ACL, MCL and meniscus, and breaking his ankle.
All indicators pointed to Musumeci winning by submission at ONE Fight Night 6 on Jan. 14 in Bangkok, Thailand, but despite languishing in submission holds for more than half of their 10-minute bout, Gantumu Bayanduuren never tapped—which was an extremely costly decision.
“I felt every tear,” says Musumeci (19-3), who is ONE Championship’s reigning flyweight submission grappling world champion. “It felt like I was ripping cardboard, like I was cutting his leg off. It was disgusting.”
A 26-year-old phenom from Marlboro, New Jersey, Musumeci possesses a boyish look that beguiles his vicious skillset. Musumeci is a five-time International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation black belt world champion, and he overwhelmed Bayanduuren. The damage started accumulating once Musumeci had Bayanduuren locked in a heel hook, twisting his leg at an angle that would leave most people nauseous.
Courtesy of ONE Championship
Musumeci applied his innovative “Mikey Lock” leg lock, which is a leg lock attack using your neck, and that broke Bayanduuren’s foot. He then switched to a heel hook before ultimately landing a reverse figure-four heel hook, a move that further amplified the carnage.
“The reverse figure-four heel hook, that’s the strongest because it’s the highest fulcrum you can make it a heel hook, so you have this full bridge into the knee and the foot is completely spun,” says Musumeci. “The only thing left keeping his leg together was muscles. I didn’t want to separate the guy’s leg.”
Bayanduuren is an accomplished jiu-jitsu artist. He won gold in the 128-pound combat sambo division at the 2022 Sambo World Championships—a sport that includes all types of submissions—and he is a BJJ brown belt. His refusal to tap out is a decision that will haunt him during a long recovery process.
Musumeci debated letting go of the submission hold, even weighing out the ramifications of what would happen while he continued to apply pressure.
“I spoke with him [last week],” says Musumeci. “He was mad at me for being upset. But I feel guilty. I wish I just took his back and choked him. He would have went to sleep, and then he wouldn’t have been in control of tapping, and he could train today.”
This was the third straight win in ONE for Musumeci, who became ONE’s first-ever submission grappling world champ last October when he defeated Cleber Sousa. A Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt, he also submitted Japanese MMA and grappling legend Masakazu Imanari with a rear-naked choke during his ONE debut in April.
Next up for Musumeci is a return to the United States. He is very likely to be added to ONE Fight Night 10 in May, ONE’s debut in the U.S. Musumeci even has an opponent in mind—Osamah Almarwai, who is the first BJJ black belt from the Republic of Yemen.
“That’s my goal—to compete on the first ONE card in the USA, and I want a match against Osa,” says Musumeci. “We’ve never competed before, and he’s a champion in the same weight class. He would be a perfect opponent, and it would show how much our sport is growing. My first ONE opponent was from Japan, my second was from Brazil, and my third was from Mongolia. We need to show how international jiu-jitsu is becoming.”
Eventually, Musumeci plans to transition to mixed-rules matches. That is a frightening prospect for future opponents. If he does make the move, Musumeci could have a whole new slate of challengers, including a legend like Demetrious Johnson.
“I’m training Muy Thai in the best program in the world in Singapore,” Musumeci says. “I’m not ready yet, but I am willing to do mixed rules matches in MMA. I need some time, but that is my goal.”