Mikey Musumeci studied Osamah Almarwai after he beat friend in tournament

Mikey Musumeci got an up-close look at the next man to challenge him inside the circle later this year.

Musumeci, the reigning ONE flyweight submission grappling world champion, will put his belt on the line for the first time in 2023 when ONE Championship makes its highly anticipated debut in the United States on May 5.

Looking to dethrone the submission sensation is Osamah Almarwai, the first BJJ black belt from the Republic of Yemen, and the first Yemeni to win an International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation (IBJJF) World title.

In an interview with the Jiu-Jitsu Times, Musumeci revealed that he got a sneak peek at his ONE Fight Night 10 opponent while standing mat-side at the IBJJF No-Gi Worlds tournament:

“I was at no-gi Worlds, just coaching friends.”

One of those friends was AOJ representative Coco Izutsu, who took bronze in the tournament and lost to Almarwai in the semifinals:

“I was matside for that. So I got to really watch and study Osamah in that match.”

According to the website BJJHeroes.com, Osamah Almarwai has 22 wins on his record, with nine of them coming by way of submission. Almarwai will be Mikey Musumeci’s toughest test to date inside the circle, but having the opportunity to see his opponent compete in person could prove invaluable when it comes to keeping 26.4 pounds of ONE Championship gold wrapped around his waist.

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Adriano Moraes is open to a grappling match with Mikey Musumeci

On the same night at ONE Fight Night 10 on May 5, Mikey Musumeci will share the stage with former ONE flyweight world champion, Adriano Moraes. ‘Mikinho’ will step into the main event spotlight at the 1stBank Center in Colorado to close out his trilogy with reigning ONE flyweight world champion Demetrious Johnson.

Speaking with SCMP MMA about his upcoming showdown with Johnson, Moraes also revealed that he is open to a potential super fight with Mikey Musumeci in the future:

"Why not? He showed already why he’s one of the greatest grapplers in the world. He destroyed the knees of everybody that tried to cross his way. Let’s see if he can do it with me or if I can submit him."

As one of the promotion’s most prolific finishers, Adriano Moraes has shown on more than one occasion that he can handle himself on the ground. Boasting a 73% finish rate, Moraes has submitted his opponents eight times across 11 total victories under the ONE Championship banner.