Current ONE flyweight submission grappling king Mikey “Darth Rigatoni” Musumeci is on a whole new level as he prepares to take on Gabriel Sousa, the last man to defeat him in competition.

The pair are set to clash in a bantamweight submission grappling tilt this Friday, June 7, live on U.S. primetime at ONE 167: Tawanchai vs. Nattawut II on Prime Video.

Mikey Musumeci brings out his intimidation game

That contest will go down at Bangkok’s Impact Arena and has drawn the attention of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and grappling fans around the world.

Musumeci has been on a mission to earn redemption ever since suffering a stunning submission loss to Sousa outside of ONE back in 2021.

Now just one day away from this long-awaited rematch, he says he’s at the top of his game, “I see myself winning. First of all, I’m very confident in my preparation. I did everything f****** right, dude. I’m scary right now [with] how prepared I am.

“I’ve never been this good. I haven’t been this mentally focused as an athlete in five or six years.”

Although he’s long been regarded as one of the planet’s top pound-for-pound grapplers and undeniably one of the greatest-ever American-born BJJ competitors, “Darth Rigatoni” says that he’s just now starting to take his physical preparation as seriously as his technical work.

“Darth Rigatoni” claims that he’s stronger than before

Motivated by the chance to avenge one of his few career defeats, Musumeci is now treating himself like the elite athlete that he is, “I really put myself to have the best chances to win this match, I believe, and I worked very f****** hard. And I became an athlete again. I’m not just a jiu-jitsu hobbyist bum training. Literally, that’s all I was doing for five years is just training in my garage with hobbyists.

“I’ve gotten so much f****** better, dude. Physically, technically, everything. I’m an athlete again. When your skill level is really much higher than your other opponents, I didn’t really have to focus on being an athlete.”

To that end, the New Jersey native has enlisted the help of renowned strength and conditioning coach Sam Calavitta at the Treigning Lab – and he says he’s now stronger than ever.

Musumeci added, “My strength is significantly more than 2021, like 10 times more. I’m working with coach Cal from Treigning Lab. He’s a sports scientist. He works with all the best athletes for the U.S. Olympic wrestling and UPenn, and Oklahoma — all these college wrestling places. And he’s been really working on my nervous system, getting it strong.”