Mikey Musumeci Details Injury That Nearly Ended His Career: “My Lung Would Have Collapsed.”

Mikey Musumeci Details Injury That Nearly Ended His Career: "My Lung Would Have Collapsed."Mikey Musumeci shared the alarming details surrounding the injury that took him out of ONE Championship’s return to ‘The…

Mikey Musumeci Details Injury That Nearly Ended His Career: "My Lung Would Have Collapsed."

Mikey Musumeci shared the alarming details surrounding the injury that took him out of ONE Championship’s return to ‘The Mile High City’ in September.

Reigning as the ONE flyweight submission grappling world champion, Musumeci was scheduled to square off with ADCC and CJI Invitational winner Kade Ruotolo at ONE 168. Unfortunately, Ruotolo was forced to bow out of the bout after sustaining injuries during his $1 million run at the inaugural Craig Jones Invitational weeks earlier.

As a result, Musumeci was instead booked to defend his flyweight title against Bebeto Oliveira at the event. The only problem was, ‘Darth Rigatoni’ was never scheduled to defend his title. Instead, he was scheduled to move up three weight classes and challenge Ruotolo for his ONE lightweight submission grappling crown.

Mikey Musumeci flips the switch on Gabriel Sousa at ONE 167 scaled 1

With a new opponent and only a week to cut a whopping 35 pounds, Musumeci immediately got to work. Unfortunately, he’d never make it to fight night. Musumeci missed weight and was subsequently stripped of his flyweight title. Weeks later, he exited ONE Championship.

Appearing on The Ariel Helwani Show, Musumeci shed some light on the situation and revealed that he was suffering from a very rare and life threatening illness while trying to cut the weight for ONE 168.

“So, basically, they offered me another opponent at 178 pounds,” Musumeci said. “I had to be a minimum of, I believe, like 165 or 160-something, but I walk around a lot lighter. I couldn’t legally make that weight because of the Athletic Commission rules. I told them, ‘I can’t make that weight,’ so I preferred to just stick to my division.

“At the time, I was very light. I could’ve made 135 pounds, no problem. But then the lung injury happened, which none of us knew about at the time. I only had two days to make weight, whereas I usually need at least a week. The night before the match, at weigh-ins, I was 140 pounds hydrated. The fight was set at 135 pounds. That night, I sustained the injury, which turned out to be called pneumomediastinum.

“It’s when your lung tears, and air leaks into your throat. I was trying to sweat and kept telling my friends, ‘What is wrong with my throat? It feels so sore.’ It felt like crispy bubbles in my throat. We all thought I was just dehydrated or dizzy. But I knew something felt off.

“I also tried a different style of cutting weight since I had only two days,” Musumeci continued. “I drank a lot of electrolytes, thinking it would help with the hydration test. In ONE Championship, they use a gravity test to check the sodium level in your urine. If it’s above 1.0250, you fail hydration. I thought drinking electrolytes would keep my levels balanced. But when the lung issue happened, my body shut down. I couldn’t sweat anymore and became super dizzy. My urine had so much sodium from the electrolytes that I couldn’t flush it out, even after drinking three gallons of water. Everything got stuck in my stomach.

“At that point, I felt something was really wrong and decided to go to the hospital. It turned out I was incredibly lucky not to have fought. The doctor said my lung would have collapsed in one minute, and I could have died.”

Mikey Musumeci

Mikey Musumeci explains why he left ONE Championship

According to Musumeci, the condition usually accounts for one in every 42,000 hospital cases.

“I was there for three or four days,” Musumeci added. “When I left, I couldn’t elevate my heart rate or breathe heavily for two weeks. Even walking made me feel weird. It was scary.”

Musumeci being forced to cut so much weight in such a short span sparked outrage from fight fans who lambasted ONE Championship for putting the New Jersey native in an almost impossible situation and then proceeded to strip him of his ONE flyweight submission grappling title when he couldn’t hit the mark.

Mikey Musumeci

Explaining why he decided to leave ONE, Musumeci appeared to hold no animosity toward the organization or it’s CEO, Chatri Sityodtong, who he describes as a parental figure.

Musumeci has since signed a landmark deal with the UFC and is scheduled to make his debut at UFC Fight Pass Invitational 9 on December 5. ‘Darth Rigatoni’ will take on Felipe Machado at the event.

Mikey Musumeci

Mikey Musumeci Explains Why he Left ONE for the UFC: “We don’t have to question if they’ll have money a year from now.”

Mikey Musumeci Explains Why he Left ONE for the UFCDarth Rigatoni’ Mikey Musumeci was a fan favorite in ONE Championship and a reigning titleholder in their submission grappling…

Mikey Musumeci Explains Why he Left ONE for the UFC

Darth Rigatoni’ Mikey Musumeci was a fan favorite in ONE Championship and a reigning titleholder in their submission grappling division. The American-Italian grappler walked away from ONE and signed with the UFC.

Mikey Musumeci

It is an interesting signing as Mikey Musumeci does not currently compete in MMA, but the UFC also does not have a submission grappling division. Thus, it may be an indication for the future that the UFC is looking at expanding into Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu competitions.

Musumeci was scheduled to face fellow grappler Kade Ruotolo in a BJJ match but Ruotolo suffered an injury and had to withdraw. ‘Darth Rigatoni’ was then rebooked but at a much lower weight and was forced to cut nearly 30 pounds in just a few days which led to illness. He was unable to make weight and was hospitalized. To add insult to injury, Mikey Musumeci was also stripped of his title due to this incident.

Mikey Musumeci Leaving ONE Championship

Recent news has come out that Mikey Musumeci left ONE Championship and has signed with the UFC. He will be competing at the UFC Fight Pass Invitational 9 grappling event on December 5 against Felipe Machado. The event will be hosted at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

Mikey Musumeci

Speaking in an interview with Ariel Helwani, Mikey Musumeci explained why he left ONE. He said:

“My contract was coming to an end, basically. I just wanted to be back home in the U.S. Again, I love ONE Championship, but I was there because of my relationship with Chatri. He was like a parent to me. He was probably my closest friend for a few years, and that’s why I moved to Asia. Then I decided I wanted to be back in the U.S., close to my family. The UFC is 10 to 15 minutes from my house, so it’s a no-brainer for me, especially being American. I also feel the UFC can bring a lot to grappling. It’s finally another platform that can expand our sport to people who wouldn’t typically watch jiu-jitsu.

“It’s a platform that will eventually have drug testing, a platform that can make our sport professional. Right now, there’s too much with steroids and craziness. I just want a legitimate, professional platform for athletes. For kids growing up, they can dream of being professional jiu-jitsu athletes without thinking about switching careers. The most fulfillment I can have as a person is setting that path for the next generation.

“I have no hard feelings toward ONE. How could I? They helped me grow so much as a person. I’m full of gratitude for Chatri. We were like a dysfunctional family sometimes—disagreements, fights—but at the end of the day, I’m grateful for everything he’s done for me. I’d never speak badly about him.”

On Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu promoters as a whole, he added:

Of course. I’ll just say broadly—there’s a lot of shadiness and shady promoters who do messed-up things behind the scenes.

“Being in it for so many years, you get burnt out. It doesn’t feel legitimate or professional. You make money here and there, but then a shady arms dealer promotes an event, and suddenly they have money. You make money once, and then it disappears. Is this what we want for the next generation? No. We need a legitimate organization, like MLB, NBA, or NFL, where we don’t have to question if they’ll have money a year from now.

Mikey Musumeci 3

Mikey Musumeci Explains UFC Signing

A BJJ athlete has never signed a contract with the UFC just to do submission grappling, but Mikey Musumeci has done exactly that. Being friends and meeting Hunter Campbell at the UFC Performance Institute helped this expansion. On why this happened, he explained:

During that time, I trained in Vegas and was at UFC PI a lot. I met Hunter there; we became good friends, and that’s how the relationship started … They’re trying to take over jiu-jitsu like they did MMA. Their goal is to grow the sport exponentially—grappling leagues, everything.

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu ace ‘Darth Rigatoni’ Mikey Musumeci may be the start of the UFC’s expansion into the submission grappling world.

Mikey Musumeci

Former ONE World Champion Signs Exclusive Deal With The UFC

UFC president Dana White took to social media last night to announce some ground-breaking news for the promotion. In recent years, the UFC Fight Pass Invitational has started to become a major fixture in the submission grappling world and it appears that the UFC is going to double down on this in the next few […]

UFC president Dana White took to social media last night to announce some ground-breaking news for the promotion. In recent years, the UFC Fight Pass Invitational has started to become a major fixture in the submission grappling world and it appears that the UFC is going to double down on this in the next few months.

White broke the news that former ONE Championship star Mikey Musumeci has signed to become the UFC’s first-ever exclusive grappling competitor. He is set to make his FPI debut on December 5 at the Apex in Las Vegas where he faces Felipe Machado in the main event.

White’s social media video hyped up Musumeci’s arrival along with the statement that this big signing is set to be the first of many that are coming in the near future.

“Over the course of the last year, I’ve been working on developing the best Brazilian jiu-jitsu program in the world. I am excited to announce that we’ve signed Mikey Musumeci to the first-ever exclusive BJJ promotional agreement in the company’s history. If you don’t know, Mikey is considered by many to be the best BJJ player in the world and he is a multiple-time world champion and unbeaten over the past eight years at 135-pounds. This will be the first of many we will sign over the coming months.”

ONE Championship has also looked to capitalize on the growing interest in submission grappling over the past few years by signing some of the top athletes in the sport like Musumeci and the Ruotolo brothers. Musumeci became the promotion’s inaugural flyweight submission grappling world champion and defended the belt several times before announcing his departure from the promotion last week.

He was recently stripped of the flyweight title after failing to make weight and pass his hydration test after agreeing to a late notice title defense at ONE 168 this past September. A video of Musumeci being sat at the Apex alongside the UFC boss prompted some speculation that this could be his next destination.

Mikey Musumeci Walks Away from ONE Championship

Mikey Musumeci Leaves ONE ChampionshipSuperstar Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu athlete Mikey Musumeci has walked away from ONE Championship. This comes just weeks after the weight-cut…

Mikey Musumeci Leaves ONE Championship

Superstar Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu athlete Mikey Musumeci has walked away from ONE Championship. This comes just weeks after the weight-cut controversy in his most recent scheduled match that led him to be stripped of his title.

Mikey Musumeci Leaves ONE Championship

Darth Rigatoni” Mikey Musumeci is an American-Italian standout grappler in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu who has collected impressive titles in IBJJF world championships. He recently reported on Instagram that he stepping away from ONE Championship leaving the organization behind. He wrote:

“END OF A CHAPTER OF MY LIFE – today I would like to announce I will no longer be living in Asia or competing under One Championship … These past three years I have had some of the best memories and lessons of my life! I met so many incredible people in Singapore and in Thailand … I was the first submission grappling world champion the organization ever had, and I had the platform and opportunity to help grow our sport of jiu jitsu to so many more people.

Some people speculate that the submission grappler is not happy with how he was treated in his last match. Musumeci was originally scheduled to face Kade Ruotolo at 170 lbs. However, Ruotolo withdrew due to injury. ONE Championship then asked Musumeci to defend his flyweight (135 lb) title against a replacement opponent, Bebeto Oliveira, on short notice. This required Musumeci to attempt to cut approximately 35 lbs in just 72 hours, which many considered an unreasonable and dangerous request.

Musumeci failed to make weight, coming in at 136 lbs, and also failed hydration tests. As a result, ONE Championship stripped Musumeci of his flyweight submission grappling title. The grappling community largely rallied behind Musumeci, criticizing ONE Championship for putting him in this difficult position. The incident led to significant backlash against ONE Championship’s weight-cutting and hydration policies.

Just weeks after this controversy, Mikey Musumeci announced he was leaving ONE Championship. The chief executive officer of ONE Chatri Sityodtong and ONE Championship has not made any official announcement regarding this news.

Mikey Musumeci

He made history in 2019 by securing the fastest submission ever in an IBJJF World Championship final, tapping out his opponent with an ankle lock in just 12 seconds. Since joining ONE, Musumeci has remained undefeated with a 7-0 record, including 5 submission victories. He has successfully defended his world title multiple times against high-level opponents.

ONE 168: Jonathan Haggerty vs. Superlek Live Results & Highlights

ONE Championship is back for its second event in the United States this week, and MMA News has you covered with all the action! In May 2023, the organization presented ONE Fight Night 10 from the 1stBank Center in Broomfield, Colorado. The event marke…

ONE 168

ONE Championship is back for its second event in the United States this week, and MMA News has you covered with all the action! In May 2023, the organization presented ONE Fight Night 10 from the 1stBank Center in Broomfield, Colorado. The event marked its on-site debut in the United States, and ONE Championship brought a stacked card […]

Continue Reading ONE 168: Jonathan Haggerty vs. Superlek Live Results & Highlights at MMA News.

Injured Kade Ruotolo Out Of ONE 168: Denver Title Fight Following Craig Jones Invitational Win

ONE Championship’s upcoming return to the United States has taken a major hit. After fortifying its status among combat promotions in Asia, ONE began its pursuit of further prominence on US soil by debuting in the region last year. The successful ONE Fight Night 10 card took place at the 1stBankCenter in Broomfield, where Demetrious […]

Continue Reading Injured Kade Ruotolo Out Of ONE 168: Denver Title Fight Following Craig Jones Invitational Win at MMA News.

ONE Championship’s upcoming return to the United States has taken a major hit.

After fortifying its status among combat promotions in Asia, ONE began its pursuit of further prominence on US soil by debuting in the region last year. The successful ONE Fight Night 10 card took place at the 1stBankCenter in Broomfield, where Demetrious Johnson, Rodtang Jitmuangnon, and Stamp Fairtex were among the major winners.

The organization is back in Colorado almost 16 months later, with Denver’s Ball Arena playing host to ONE’s sophomore US event. But when it comes to putting on a stacked lineup for the American audience, not everything has gone to plan this time around.

ONE 168, set for this Friday, September 6, first lost its strawweight MMA title headliner between champion Xiong Jing Nan and atomweight queen Stamp after the latter tore her meniscus in May.

And just as fight week gets underway, the upcoming card has taken another huge blow…

Ruotolo Out Of Musumeci Super Fight, ‘Dealing With Injuries’ After CJI Triumph

In the absence of Xiong vs. Stamp, another champ vs. champ showdown was cemented as the main event in Jonathan Haggerty vs. Superlek Kiatmoo9. Co-headlining, meanwhile, was slated to be a submission grappling title fight.

Among those raising the prominence of submission grappling in ONE are Kade Ruotolo and Mikey Musumeci. The pair were scheduled to do battle for the former’s lightweight title at ONE 168, with “Darth Rigatoni” moving up three weight classes to take on the challenge.

But after emerging $1 million richer from the inaugural Craig Jones Invitational last month, Ruotolo is carrying injuries and has been left unable to share the Circle with Musumeci in Denver.

“Just going to start by saying this year has been a hectic one,” Ruotolo wrote on Facebook. “I am proud for accomplishing my goals this year of competing in gi, nogi and mma. I’m unfortunately dealing with injuries. I know a lot of people, including myself and Mikey were looking forward to the One match in Denver but unfortunately it’s off.

“Im going to be recovering alongside my brother and hope to get back to the mats asap. Massive thank you to @onechampionships for being the best martial arts platform @yodchatri,” he concluded.

It’s unclear whether Musumeci will remain on the lineup and receive a replacement opponent. But should he and Ruotolo be off the card, ONE 168 will have lost one of its biggest matchups and both of its big-name US athletes.

Continue Reading Injured Kade Ruotolo Out Of ONE 168: Denver Title Fight Following Craig Jones Invitational Win at MMA News.