Tammi Musumeci picked up a hard-fought victory in her ONE Championship debut at ONE Fight Night 8, and she will be looking to build upon that momentum on Jul. 14 when she returns to Bangkok, Thailand.
At ONE Fight Night 12, the sister of ONE flyweight submission grappling champion Mikey Musumeci, will tangle with Amanda “Tubby” Alequin in a strawweight submission grappling contest inside Lumpinee Boxing stadium.
Her upcoming opponent isn’t a fresh face for Musumeci. She counts Tubby as a friend and holds two victories over her in previous encounters.
“We used to train together a lot, we’re actually close friends. I like her a lot. I think she’s a cool friend,” Musumeci told ONE.
Having experience against her on the mats, Musumeci knows what to expect. The New Jersey native is sure their strawweight meeting in Bangkok will be an exciting affair because of Alequin’s exciting style.
“She’s going to come forward, that’s what she does. She goes forward and she attacks. That’s how she’s always been, and that’s what makes her a really good competitor. Win or lose, her matches are always exciting because she doesn’t stop,” she said.
Their time together training and competing has strengthened the two grapplers’ bond as friends. After spending so much time together, Musumeci believes their similar philosophies and personalities have helped connect them outside the gym.
“That’s why I think we became friends. We don’t have egos. We’re just kind of chill, you know? I feel like that’s why we became friends and we got along together pretty well,” the 28-year-old explained.
The high-stakes battle will be Alequin’s introduction to the global stage, but Musumeci is not taking that for granted ahead of their bout.
Although she holds two wins over her friend already, she is aware that the technique “Tubby” possesses will require her to be cognizant of the dangers each second of the bout.
“She’s very technical. She’s always been very technical. She’s an amazing competitor. She has a good guard and also good passing. She’s pretty good everywhere, honestly,” Musumeci said.
Their prior bouts occurred in 2021, meaning Alequin has had three years to improve and show something new on Jul. 14.
If the past predicts the future, Musumeci knows she will be in a physically demanding matchup once again.
“I just remember her being super aggressive, super flexible too. She used to fight the higher weight classes and now she’s skinnier, but she’s still as strong as when she used to fight those higher weight classes, and long too. So she’s very good at this weight class,” she recalled.
But Alequin will not be the only athlete who has evolved since those meetings. Musumeci is adamant that she will bring a few more tools with her into Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in a few short weeks.
And that will allow the soft-spoken grappling star to be free flowing when she collides with her friend.
“Since [2021], I was more back-take oriented then. I still do back-takes, but I also like to do different stuff as well. So I don’t really have a game plan or anything yet,” Musumeci said.
ONE Fight Night 12 airs live on Prime Video on Friday, Jul. 14, at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT. The event will be free for all Amazon Prime members in the U.S. and Canada.