ONE's Mikey Musumeci loses title after losing 35 pounds in five days

ONE Championship flyweight submission grappling defending champion Mikey Musumeci was recently embroiled in controversy after being stripped of his belt due to missing weight information prior to his upcoming fight.

Musumeci was originally scheduled to challenge lightweight grappling champion Kade Ruotolo in the co-main event of ONE 168: Denver on Friday night. However, in a dramatic twist during fight week, Ruotolo was forced to withdraw due to injury, so the promotion quickly arranged for reigning IBJJF world champion Carlos Oliveira to step in as a last-minute replacement and face Musumeci for his flyweight title.

With just three days' notice, “Darth Rigatoni” was tasked with cutting down to 135 pounds, a significant reduction from the original planned weight limit of 170 pounds. Although losing weight that quickly is extremely difficult, Musumeci gave it his best shot. However, at the official weigh-in on Thursday, the 28-year-old New Jersey native came in at 142 pounds, missing the goal by seven pounds.

To make matters worse, he also failed the hydration test, which resulted in Musumeci being stripped of his ONE Championship title. While the fight will still take place as a catchweight bout, now only Oliveira has a chance to win the belt if he gets the win.

Musumeci describes the withdrawal of the title as the “worst day” of his Jiu-Jitsu career

After failing to meet the required weight and hydration goals, resulting in the loss of his title, Musumeci shared his emotional reaction to the situation on Instagram. In a heartfelt message, “Darth Rigatoni” sincerely apologized to his fans and to Oliveira for missing weight.

“Probably one of the worst days of my life in jiu jitsu,” Musumeci wrote. “I wanted to compete at ONE 168 in Denver so badly. I felt terrible for the fans that came to see me and I felt like I was letting them down. I tried to make championship weight of 135 pounds in about 72 hours but that was too much in a short amount of time after preparing for the Kade fight. My body and hydration failed when I reached 136 pounds. [pounds] earlier today.”

“Today I lost my belt, today I disappointed the fans and I want to apologize to my opponent Bebeto, who I respect a lot, for not making the weight. I'm so sorry for everyone, but I did my best. But God made everything happen for a reason. I'm so sorry again, everyone.”