Mikey Musumeci will now be moving up to bantamweight for a rematch with Gabriel Sousa at ONE 167 on June 7th, 2024. Although Musumeci is the reigning and first ONE Championship flyweight submission grappling world champion, he has recently been moving up in weight to challenge himself instead of continuing to defend his title. Musumeci won the belt by defeating Cleber Sousa at the end of 2022 and he quickly racked up three title-defenses over the course of 2023, beating opponents from a wide range of different grappling backgrounds. Musumeci then finished the year by moving up in weight and submitting Japanese MMA legend Shinya Aoki with his own signature submission.
It was a strong year for Musumeci at ONE Championship and he was declared the promotion’s ‘Submission Grappler of the Year’ as a result. Gabriel Sousa on the other hand has been even busier, as he has been travelling all around the world and competing for a variety of different promotions. He earned wins over some of the biggest names in the sport like Gianni Grippo and Damien Anderson, along with giving Diogo Reis everything he had at WNO 20. Not only is moving up in weight going to be a challenge, but Musumeci is doing it against one of the best grapplers on the planet who actually already holds a win over him.
Musumeci and Sousa met for the first time all the way back in 2021 in the opening round of the lightweight division at the Who’s Number One Championships. Although both men generally compete in lighter divisions than that, they were both seen as top contenders to take home the promotion’s inaugural title. Sousa got the upper hand in that battle and he managed to not only pass Musumeci’s guard, but also lock up a north-south choke immediately afterward. Musumeci tapped and Sousa progressed on to the next round, eventually making it to the final of the tournament where he lost to fellow ONE Championship title-holder Kade Ruotolo.
Not only is this rematch with Gabriel Sousa likely going to be the toughest battle Mikey Musumeci has had in his ONE Championship career so far, but it’s also probably going to be one of the most exciting as well. Musumeci is a guard-player who specializes in relentlessly attacking the back and legs of his opponents from all angles, while Sousa is a very well-rounded grappler with an incredible passing game. They should match up perfectly from a stylistic point of view and fans should expect to see non-stop action as they both attempt to impose their game on one another.
ONE Championship announced that the rematch between Mikey Musumeci and Gabriel Sousa would take place at ONE 167 in a recent post to their official Instagram account:
