“I’m going to try my best” – Osamah Almarwai says victory won’t come easy against ‘tough guy’ Cleber Sousa

Osamah Almarwai is eyeing a bounce-back victory against Cleber Sousa in their scheduled flyweight submission grappling match at ONE 166 on March 1 inside the Lusail Sports Arena in Qatar.

Both BJJ black belters will be part of the ground-breaking event in ONE Championship history, the promotion’s first spectacle in the region.

Speaking to ONE Championship ahead of his second match under the world’s largest martial arts organization, Almarwai, a former ONE flyweight submission grappling world title challenger, has acknowledged the tough challenge that Sousa will present. However, he vows to do his best to get his hands raised.

The Atos representative said:

“I know Cleber is a tough guy. It’s not going to be easy, but I’m going to try my best to get the victory in Qatar.”

Almarwai had a rude welcome in the promotion in May 2023 when he challenged the reigning ONE flyweight submission grappling world champion Mikey Musumeci for his crown and suffered a submission loss.

Aside from Almarwai, Sousa was also a victim of ‘Darth Rigatoni’s’ brilliance on the mat when he fought the American champion in October 2022 at ONE on Prime Video 2 and suffered a unanimous decision defeat.

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Osamah Almarwai admits Mikey Musumeci was one step ahead of him

In a separate interview, Almarwai revealed that Musumeci was always one step ahead during their match because he was able to counter his attack and was quick to exploit the holes in his defense.

With the valuable experience and lessons he acquired from that meeting, the 31-year-old Yemeni wants to tally his maiden win in the promotion and potentially get another opportunity to face Musumeci in a world title rematch.

ONE 166: Qatar is available live and for free to all Prime Video subscribers in North America on March 1.