Mikey Musumeci welcomes competing against BJJ specialist

Reigning ONE flyweight submission grappling world champion Mikey Musumeci welcomes the challenge from a fellow Brazilian jiu-jitsu expert in his next title defense later this year.

'Darth Rigatoni' will put his world title on the line against Yemeni BJJ ace Osamah Almarwai at ONE Fight Night 10 on May 5 in Colorado, U.S.A.

Almarwai is expected to present a different opposition to the reigning champion, owing to his extensive experience competing in grappling. That's as opposed to Mikey Musumeci's previous opponents in ONE, who were sambo fighters.

Mikey Musumeci shared to ONE Championship:

“It won’t be one person with anti-jiu-jitsu running away [from the BJJ player] – Osamah will come in, and exchange with me using jiu-jitsu. MMA fans and people that really don’t watch jiu-jitsu will still be able to appreciate it, which is always my goal in ONE Championship.”

Almarwai has been training at Atos BJJ in San Diego for a while now under the guidance of legendary grappler and ONE athlete Andre Galvao.

His recent achievements 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.

Mikey Musumeci, for his part, made a first successful title defense last month, defeating Mongolian challenger Gantumur Bayanduuren via unanimous decision. He is currently sporting a 3-0 record in ONE.

ONE Fight Night 10 is the promotion’s first-ever on-ground live event in the United States and will take place at 1stBank Center in Broomfield, Colorado. All the action will be aired live and for free to all Prime Video subscribers in North America.

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Mikey Musumeci wants "to have an impact on the next generation" in jiu-jitsu

American submission grappling ace Mikey Musumeci is hoping that all the success he has been having in the sport serves as an inspiration to the next generation of jiu-jitsu athletes.

A decorated Brazilian jiu-jitsu fighter prior to joining ONE Championship last year, Musumeci continues to impress in the promotion with his top-notch grappling skills, which have resulted in three impressive victories to date and a world title.

Speaking with Fightlore, the reigning ONE flyweight submission grappling world champion shared the deeper reason why he is competing in the sport and seeks to always excel in it:

"The deep reason why I compete in jiu-jitsu is, one, I love it. I’ve been doing it since I was four years old. That’s 22 years of training jiu-jitsu. I don’t know, it just became a part of my life."

He added:

"I feel like why I continue to compete now is to have an impact on the next generation. I want people to watch me compete and then want to train jiu-jitsu as well."

Watch the full interview below:

Mikey Musumeci will be back in action in May for ONE Fight Night 10 on Prime Video in Colorado, U.S.A., where he will defend his world title against BJJ black belt Osamah Almarwai.

He'll be looking for another rousing performance, this time in front of American fans who he made proud many times while competing at the IBJJF World Championship and representing the United States.