ONE’s Chatri Sityodtong releases statement after Mikey Musumeci hospitalized during weight cut

Mikey Musumeci is no longer the ONE Championship flyweight grappling champion after missing weight for a match with Bebeto Oliveira on Friday’s ONE 168 event in Denver. Musumeci revealed Saturday he was hospitalized with pneumomediastinum.

Musumeci was originally slated to face Kade Ruotolo in a 170-pound contest, but Ruotolo announced his withdrawal less than a week before the show due to injury. ONE then announced that Musumeci would defend his flyweight title days later, cutting all the way down to 135 pounds.

Musumeci missed weight and failed his hydration test for ONE 168, and was stripped of the title.

“I have been in the hospital since early this morning,” Musumeci posted on social media Saturday. “I have pneumomediastinum, which means I had a tear in my lung Wednesday I believe when I was cutting weight doing Rickson [Gracie] diaphragm breathing — didn’t know this was possible — and air got into my chest and then into my neck. This is a life-threatening condition, and if I would have competed, I could have died the doctor told me. So first I was upset, now I’m full of gratitude to be alive and that I didn’t keep pushing. God protected me.”

ONE faced criticism for its decision to strip Musumeci for missing weight for a 135-pound match on days’ notice after preparing for a 170-pound contest, and ONE CEO Chatri Sityodtong released a statement to MMA Fighting revealing that it was Musumeci’s call to drop that weight after Ruotolo’s withdrawal.

“After recent events, we feel it is necessary to provide additional context on Mikey Musumeci’s withdrawal from the ONE 168: Denver card,” Sityodtong stated. “Mikey was obviously put in a difficult spot when Kade Ruotolo withdrew due to injury. When that happened, we worked closely with him and his team on a new opponent. Competing at flyweight was something he personally requested as he felt confident that he could make the hydrated limit of 135 pounds for a world title defense. This is not something we pushed him to do on short-notice or would ever demand of a ONE athlete given how much we prioritize fighter safety.

“After Mikey failed weight and hydration tests on Thursday, he requested an openweight submission grappling contest against Bebeto Oliveira, and we continued to work with him to try and keep him on the card. He ultimately felt it was in his best interest to withdraw from the contest, and we are honoring that.”

ONE Championship has yet to announce who will compete for the now vacant flyweight grappling title.