Mikey Musumeci offers to face Nate Diaz in grappling match
ONE submission grappling champion Mikey Musumeci expressed interest in facing MMA star Nate Diaz in an openweight grappling match.
Current ONE flyweight submission grappling world champion Mikey Musumeci has recently found himself called out by iconic MMA fighter Nate Diaz and has offered to face the famed Stockton, California resident in a grappling match.
Musumeci’s offer comes not long after he asked to face banned YouTuber Sneako in an MMA fight.
On one of Sneako’s recent streams, he and Diaz are overheard discussing Musumeci. Diaz calls Musumeci a gay slur and says “I want to beat that little f****** a***.”
On Wednesday, Musumeci responded to Diaz’s comments, stating that while he has no interest in fighting Diaz in MMA, he would happily face him in an openweight grappling match.
“Wow, so I just learned from a video that Nate Diaz called me out. And in no way am I calling him out right now. This is just me responding to that video. The first thing I’ll say is I was always a huge fan of watching Nick and Nate Diaz in MMA. They’re absolute legends. Amazing grappling, amazing striking. They’re about that life.
“Obviously, I can’t fight Nate in an MMA fight. He would kill me. But I would absolutely accept a grappling match with him since we’re both black belts in jiu-jitsu. It would be an absolute honor to have the opportunity to face such a legend like Nate. A once in a lifetime opportunity. I don’t care about weight class or anything. I would be 100 percent down to grapple with him.”
A five-time IBJJF world champion widely regarded as one of the sport’s top pound-for-pound competitors, Musumeci went 4-0 in 2023, all in ONE Championship, winning three of those matches by submission. He is not currently booked for his next match.
Diaz is a veteran of 34 professional fights, including a 2015 lightweight title bout against Benson Henderson, as well as a pair of massive fights against former two-division UFC champion Conor McGregor. A black belt under Cesar Gracie, Diaz is renowned for his grappling abilities, with 12 of his 21 career victories coming by way of submission.
