Mikey Musumeci reacts to losing ONE championship title on the scale after being told to lose 35 pounds in less than a week

Mikey Musumeci reacts to losing ONE championship title on the scale

ONE 168 takes place tonight, September 6, live from Ball Arena in Denver, Colorado, with the co-main event originally scheduled to be between Mikey Musumeci and Kade Ruotolo in the 170-pound division.

Unfortunately, Ruotolo had to withdraw from the fight earlier this week due to injury, just two weeks after winning the final of the 2024 Craig Jones Invitational U80kg in Las Vegas.

But then the chaos really began: The promotion quickly decided to book Musumeci for another title fight to keep him on the ONE 168 card, this time against Bebeto Oliveira… at flyweight.

Given that Musumeci was asked to lose around 35 pounds in a matter of days, it was no surprise when the fan-favorite American failed the hydration tests and subsequently failed to make her weight.

In what was described as a blatant failure on the part of the organizer, Musumeci has now been stripped of his flyweight submission grappling title.

The 28-year-old now shared his reaction to the chaos on and off the scales via Instagram and it is safe to say that the grappling icon is heartbroken about how the week went.

“Probably one of the worst days of my jiu-jitsu life. I wanted to compete at One 168 in Denver so badly that I felt terrible towards the fans that came to see me and felt like I was letting them down. I tried to make the championship weight of 135 pounds in about 72 hours, but that was too much for the short amount of time after preparing for the Kade fight.

“My body and my hydration failed when I reached 136 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, because I couldn't make the weight.”

Musumeci ended his statement with an apology to his fans for missing the weight, although he had little reason to do so: “I'm so sorry, all of you. I gave it my all. But God made everything happen for a reason. I'm so sorry again, all of you.”

Fans from all over the world support Musumeci despite chaos in the duel

As mentioned above, athletes are usually criticized by their fans for not giving accurate weight information, especially when a fight is for a world title. Not so here.

In fact, it seems as though almost the entire ONE Championship and the Jiu-Jitsu community at large have come together to support Musumeci and criticize the promoter for his handling of the situation.

ONE 168 will be released on Friday, September 6th and will be available to watch in the US on Amazon Prime Video.

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