“I don’t run away from it anymore” 

ONE flyweight grappling submission world champion and BJJ phenom Mikey Musumeci is widely known to be shy. Because of this, the self-professed introvert previously had difficulty interacting with the people around him, especially when he was new to a certain place.

This made the 27-year-old American feel like an outcast when he was younger. But thanks to jiu-jitsu, he was able to find the means to connect with people and squash this hurdle. Musumeci gradually realized that he needed to embrace uneasy situations to become a better person.

Speaking to ONE Championship, ‘Darth Rigatoni’ shared this valuable lesson with everyone by saying:

“I used to be so afraid of being uncomfortable. I used to be horrified of it. But then when you get older, you realize that the second you stop making yourself uncomfortable is the second you stop living, so I don’t run away from it anymore.”

Being comfortable in uncomfortable situations was not the only thing that Musumeci gained from the sport, as he also collected multiple achievements and made a name for himself in combat sports by becoming a multiple-time IBJFF World Championships winner.

These IBJFF World Championships triumphs became Musumeci’s ticket to joining the world’s largest martial arts organization, where he eventually won the inaugural flyweight submission grappling world title. So far, he has beaten all five opponents pitted against him.

Currently, the Evolve MMA representative is preparing for an openweight submission grappling match with former ONE lightweight MMA world champion Shinya Aoki on October 6 at ONE Fight Night 15, which goes down inside the legendary Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand.

Musumeci voiced out his intentions to finish the Japanese submission specialist, something that Kade Ruotolo failed to do when he fought Aoki.

ONE Fight Night 15 airs live on US Primetime free of charge for Prime Video subscribers in North America.