Black Belt Team 
Mikey Musumeci is at the top of the submission grappling world. The ONE Flyweight Submission Grappling World Champion has shined since arriving on the global stage and will return on Friday, May 5, to defend his gold against Osamah Almarwai at ONE Fight Night 10.
But his life off the canvas is just as impressive as it is inside ONE Championship.
The American has been splitting time between the U.S. and Singapore over the past year. Musumeci has been training at Evolve MMA and is loving life in his new home, and has gotten accustomed to the travel between the two countries.
“I’ve been living in Singapore for about a year now. So, I come back and forth to the U.S. But I think I was gone for over three months in Asia and just doing all my training at Evolve in Singapore. And now I’m back in Vegas for the final weeks before my match,” said Musumeci.
“I keep going to Singapore every three or four months. And then I come home for about a month and then go back. So I’ve been doing this for the last year or so. So, I’m accustomed to it now. But yeah, it’s definitely a new culture for me. I really love Singapore. It’s a great country, and my training at Evolve is actually amazing. So I’ve had great training for the last three months. And I feel really on point. I’m in the U.S. this final month mostly to get used to the timezone and everything in the U.S.”
“Darth Rigatoni” is known for his love of Italian cuisine, but he is always interested in expanding his knowledge of other cultures. Competing against Brazilians led him to pick up Portuguese, and a past relationship got him to start learning Indonesian.
His love of language and travel has helped him continue his love of the cultural exchange.
“I don’t know. I love connecting with people. I feel like because I’m an introvert, I’ve always felt uncomfortable. I remember when I was younger, I was very uncomfortable connecting with people. So what helped me start learning to connect with people was learning about other people and their cultures and finding similarities between my culture in theirs,” said Musumeci.
“And it became very fascinating to me. And then, I started liking to learn and study different cultures. And then, once I started learning and studying different cultures, I started connecting more with people because I started understanding people better. So I feel like that really helped me learn to connect with people when I learned about other cultures.”
Musumeci’s connection to fans around the world has also given him another purpose in life. The American star speaks openly about mental health and wants to continue helping people by using his platform to bring more awareness to it.
“For myself, with titles, it’s not about winning titles anymore. What it’s about is inspiring and helping people, having an impact on others so that they can overcome whatever obstacles they have in life. So now that I’m in the position I’m in, I have a responsibility not only to perform and compete but also to share my stories of life and the overcomings that I’ve had,” said Musumeci.
“And I want to help people; it gives me a purpose to live. Something I’ve learned from having depression — when you’re in that state of depression, nothing makes you feel better. Food, money, nothing. The only thing that made me feel better was when I helped people, when I made somebody smile. When I made someone’s day better, that gave me a purpose to keep living.”
Musumeci has gotten thousands of messages from around the world as he continues to speak out. He has become an inspiration to a global audience. He’ll continue his mission in Colorado as ONE debuts on U.S. soil on May 5.
ONE Fight Night 10 airs live on Prime Video at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT on Friday, May 5. The event is free for all Amazon Prime subscribers in the U.S. and Canada. Three bonus bouts will begin across all ONE platforms at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT.
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Mixed martial arts, Mma, One fc, One championship
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