ONE Championship newcomer Gabriel Sousa is hungry to prove that his 2021 victory over Mikey ‘Darth Rigatoni’ Musumeci was no fluke. The two elite Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belts are slated to collide in a much-anticipated bantamweight submission grappling tilt live in U.S. Primetime on June 7 at ONE 167: Tawanchai vs. Nattawut II on Prime Video.

Set to go down at the Impact Arena in Bangkok, Thailand, the matchup will be Sousa’s opportunity to not only announce himself on the global stage but also definitively prove that he’s the better grappler than Musumeci.

How Gabriel Sousa shocked Mikey Musumeci at their first encounter

When the pair first met outside of ONE back in 2021, ‘Darth Rigatoni’ was still relatively new to the elite no-gi scene, but was widely regarded as one of the sport’s top competitors. While Sousa was a decorated athlete in his own right, he came into the contest as a sizeable underdog.

That night, the Brazilian employed a relentlessly aggressive approach to pass Musumeci’s vaunted guard before scoring the stunning submission victory, and was the last man to defeat ‘Darth Rigatoni’ on the mat. Since then, the American has won 14 straight matches to claim the inaugural ONE Flyweight Submission Grappling World Title and establish himself as a true pound-for-pound great.

For his part, Sousa has remained at the upper echelon of the world-class submission grappling scene, taking out plenty of top grapplers and earning second at the prestigious ADCC World Championships. And the Brazilian is sure he will do much better in the rematch because of one simple reason: the improvements he has made and the strides he has taken since then.

Sousa on why he is confident of victory in ‘Darth Rigatoni’ rematch

Looking back on their first encounter, Sousa says the situation is even more in his favor now. Notably, their first match took place in the first round of an eight-man tournament, so Sousa had to prepare for any number of opponents. This time around, his entire focus has been on Musumeci.

He explained: “This time, I will have more time to focus on the fight and train to fight for 10 minutes. Last time, I trained for a championship that was longer. This time I’m focused just on him, and because of that, I think I’ll get even better.”

What’s more, the 27-year-old is confident that he’s improved by leaps and bounds since his upset of ‘Darth Rigatoni’. He added: “I’m sure he must have trained a lot, watched my fights a lot, and reviewed our fight, but I believe I’m a totally different grappler than when we fought in 2021. I think I’m a more complete athlete today and that will count for a lot.” 

What are your predictions for Musumeci-Sousa 2 on ONE 167? Let us know in the comments section below.