ONE Flyweight Submission Grappling World Champion Mikey Musumeci is determined to avenge his last submission loss, and he wants nothing less than an absolute war en route to claiming it.

At ONE 167: Tawanchai vs. Nattawut II on U.S. primetime this Friday, June 7, “Darth Rigatoni” is slated to rematch Gabriel Sousa in a bantamweight submission grappling bout inside the Impact Arena in Bangkok, Thailand.

Mikey Musumeci’s unyielding determination to face Sousa once more

Sousa tapped Musumeci when they met in a tournament in 2021, which stands as the last submission loss the prodigious American talent succumbed to. Ahead of their rematch, the usually mind-mannered star was charged up when discussing how he wanted it to go down. “He’s aggressive. I want him to be aggressive. I want him to come at me, and I’m going to come at him,” Musumeci said.

He further added, “I have this f****** crazy mindset right now. And I don’t have patience. I have ADHD. I don’t want him to f****** stay back. I want him to f****** come at me like a missile. Let him have his power. Let him have his strength. I’m f****** ready for it.

“And I want him to dogfight with me. And then we’ll see who’s standing after that. We’ll see if I get f***** up. We’ll see if I f*** him up. We’ll see. That’s what’s awesome about these matches. It pushes our will.” said Musumeci

Musumeci has set his sights on victory

“Darth Rigatoni” has been supremely dominant in his ONE tenure so far, going undefeated in all six fights and securing four finishes. Despite his impressive run, it appears his loss to Souza three years ago still stings, as he is working harder than he ever has to get in shape.

While their paths have diverged since they last met, Mususmeci believes they have both put in the work to improve their craft over the years. As such, he thinks the rematch will be an entirely different affair from that of their first encounter.

“I’m a whole f****** different person. And he is, too. He got way more technical too, of course, probably in that span of time. He worked hard, too, and got better. So now it’s like the question is, did I improve enough to win this match? And I believe I did,” Musumeci said.