Bebeto Oliveira Replaces Kade Ruotolo To Challenge Mikey Musumeci For Submission Grappling Gold At ONE 168: Denver
Lightweight submission grappling kingpin Kade Ruotolo has suffered an injury and has been forced out of his much-anticipated World Title defense against Mikey Musumeci at ONE 168: Denver, but a late-notice replacement has stepped up to take on Musumeci, allowing him to still compete on the blockbuster card.
Set to go down on September 6, live in U.S. primetime from Ball Arena, “Darth Rigatoni” will now put his ONE Flyweight Submission Grappling World Title on the line against reigning IBJJF World Champion Bebeto Oliveira.
Musumeci has spent the past several months preparing to jump up three weight classes and challenge Ruotolo, but after the Californian sustained injuries during his $1 million victory at the inaugural Craig Jones Invitational, the match was unfortunately called off.
Oliveira, though, is far from a pushover and will pose a serious challenge to the flyweight titleholder.
The Brazilian is a respected and decorated BJJ black belt, boasting IBJJF World Titles in both gi and no-gi competition, as well as gi and no-gi IBJJF Pan-American titles. Known for his expert guard play and versatile, well-rounded game, Oliveira has been a mainstay of the elite gi and no-gi BJJ scene for the past several years.
He will now step up for the biggest opportunity of his career on less than one week’s notice.
To make matters more interesting, this won’t be the first time Musumeci has shared the mat with the challenger. Back in 2021, the two met in the quarterfinals of the IBJJF World Championships, with the New Jersey native walking away with a submission win via his trademark ankle lock.
Since then, though, Oliveira has shown marked improvement, earning impressive victories over the likes of IBJJF World Champions Edwin “Junny” Ocasio, Paulo Miyao, and Thalison Soares. What’s more, he owns a pair of wins over former ONE Flyweight Submission Grappling World Title challenger Cleber “Clandestino” Sousa.
For his part, Musumeci has firmly established himself as one of the planet’s top pound-for-pound submission grapplers. The defending submission grappling king will come into this contest riding an incredible winning streak that dates back to 2021 and is fresh off a dominant submission win over Gabriel Sousa – a performance many are calling the best of his illustrious career.
Now just days away from ONE 168, Oliveira stands to earn redemption over the American and announce himself as a global superstar on September 6.
