Mikey Musumeci clears air on weigh-in mishap: “ONE Championship never forced me”
Mikey Musumeci has finally spoken out after controversially losing the ONE Flyweight Submission Grappling World Title on the scales.
“Darth Rigatoni” faced a series of hurdles in the lead-up to ONE 168: Denver on September 6.
Originally, he was slated to move up in weight for a showdown with lightweight king Kade Ruotolo. But the latter was forced to withdraw due to an injury he sustained during the Craig Jones Invitational.
With Musumeci’s spot on the card in jeopardy, ONE Championship scrambled to find him an opponent. They secured one in Bebeto Oliveira.
Musumeci was now set to defend his flyweight belt rather than vie for Ruotolo’s lightweight crown.
Just when everything seemed back on track, disaster struck. Musumeci failed to make weight and could not pass the hydration test. Because of this, he lost his World Title.
The mishap raised questions about how ONE handled things. But in a rare moment of vulnerability, the 28-year-old chose to take full accountability.
“I want to clarify that ONE Championship never forced me to do 135 [pounds] for this match. I’ve always made 135 rather easily, and I was exactly where I needed to be in weight to make it,” he wrote in an Instagram post.
Throughout his career, Musumeci has practiced Rickson diaphragm breathing exercises. Unfortunately, it worsened his state. He raced straight to the hospital with pneumomediastinum. It’s a serious condition where air escapes from the lungs into the mediastinum, a central compartment of the thoracic cavity.
The dangerous side effects forced Musumeci to withdraw from the affair entirely, even after an openweight bout had been negotiated.
“I always did this breathing as a form of meditation before competitions, and the day before weigh-ins, I was just doing it to unwind and relax my mind post-training, and all of a sudden my neck, throat, and chest got extremely sore,” he said.
Mikey Musumeci glad to be alive
Reflecting on the debacle, Mikey Musumeci conceded he was baffled by how his body failed him this time.
“So weigh-ins, the strangest thing happened: my body wasn’t working anymore when I began to try to sweat. It shut down; my throat and neck were so sore to the point that drinking water and talking were painful, and I was so dizzy and out of it,” he said.
Despite his disciplined approach to training, the American ace found himself grappling with a reality he hadn’t anticipated.
“If you know me personally, I’m one of the most stubborn people you will ever meet, and it takes a lot for me to pull out of a match,” he said.
Still, Musumeci remains grateful for having survived what could have been a career-ending scenario.
“God has everything happen for a reason; I’m alive today because of how everything turned out,” he said. “It wasn’t my time to go yet, and I’m so grateful and fortunate to be alive.”
