Get a cage-side view of Mikey Musumeci’s masterpiece against Osamah Almarwai

At ONE Fight Night 10: Johnson vs. Moraes III on Prime Video last weekend, ONE flyweight submission grappling world champion Mikey Musumeci successfully defended his belt for a second straight time. In front of a sold-out crowd at 1stBank Center in Denver, Colorado, the feared 'Darth Rigatoni' wowed everyone with a masterclass of grappling against No.1-ranked IBJJF No-Gi Roosterweight blackbelt Osamah Almarwai.

That night, Mikey Musumeci curbed his bad behavior of going into tunnel vision while competing, fixating on singular submissions often at the expense of other attacks. Early in the bout, it looked like the self-proclaimed jiu-jitsu nerd was falling back into his old ways, going leg-lock heavy on his Yemeni opponent.

Musumeci, however, wisely shifted from leg locks to pressure passing, finding better and more effective openings to win the bout. Eventually, 'Darth Rigatoni' found an opportunity to lock in an air-tight rear-naked choke, forcing Almarwai to tap.

ONE Championship recently uploaded a close-up video of the closing moments of the bout on Instagram:

"Got 'em 🔥 What's next for ONE Flyweight Submission Grappling World Champion Mikey Musumeci? 🤔 @mikeymusumeci"

In the bout, Osamah Almarwai survived Musumeci’s onslaught of leg locks for the most part of the first seven minutes. With just three minutes left, 'Darth Rigatoni' took top position and passed from half-guard to back control. It was somewhat similar to Musumeci's ingenious pass against Masakazu Imanari last year.

Akin to Mikey Musumeci's promotional debut against the legendary Masakazu Imanari, he trapped one of Osamah Almarwai's arms inside his body lock. With just one arm to defend himself, the Yemeni grappler accepted the inevitable as Musumeci locked in a textbook rear-naked choke.

The victory got the world champion a $50,000 performance bonus from ONE Championship CEO Chatri Sityodtong. With another former world champion and highly-ranked grappler handily dispatched, it's hard to see who can possibly give Musumeci a challenge inside the circle. Only time will tell.

Prime Video subscribers in North America can watch the full replay of this match, along with the entire blockbuster card, free of charge.