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Yemeni jiu-jitsu ace Osamah Almarwai makes his return to action next month, looking to rebound after falling short in his bid to seize the ONE flyweight submission grappling world title in his promotional debut.
The BJJ black belt challenged flyweight submission grappling king Mikey Musumeci in his first outing in ONE in May last year in the United States. He, however, was submitted by ‘Darth Rigatoni’ late in their 10-minute title clash by rear-naked choke.
In an interview with ONE Championship, Osamah Almarwai looked back at his debut and hailed Musumeci’s fight IQ, saying:
“Mikey is very technical. People always ask me, is he strong? I’m like, yeah, he’s strong, but he’s more technical than strong. I didn’t feel the strength is what gave him the win, it was the technique.”
Armed with the lessons from the Musumeci fight, Osamah Almarwai seeks to rebound at ONE 166: Qatar on March 1 at the Lusail Sports Arena. There he will take on Brazilian Cleber Sousa in a flyweight submission grappling clash.
Like Almarwai, Sousa seeks to bounce back after his own failed bid for the inaugural flyweight grappling gold in September 2022 against Musumeci.
ONE 166 will air live on March 1 via global pay-per-view on watch.onefc.com.
Osamah Almarwai seeks to achieve success in ONE journey
Despite losing in his promotional debut, Osamah Almarwai is still determined to see his push for ONE Championship success through.
Already a highly accomplished BJJ fighter before entering ONE, the Saudi-born Yemeni fighter wants to continue soaring in the largest martial arts organization in the world.
To help him in his quest, he has been training at Atos BJJ in San Diego, California, under the guidance of legendary grappler Andre Galvao, along with ONE world champions Kade and Tye Ruotolo.
Among his recent feats include winning gold medals against top-class opponents at the IBJJF No-Gi American Nationals and Pan American Championships, as well as earning a first-place finish at the 2022 IBJJF No-Gi World Championships.
