Osamah Almarwai is "very honored" to fight Mikey Musumeci in historical bout for ONE

Since achieving his black belt, Osamah Almarwai has had a meteoric rise in the submission grappling world that will be capped off by his ONE Championship debut.

At ONE Fight Night 10 on May 5, the Saudi-born Yemen native will compete against ONE’s flyweight submission grappling world champion Mikey Musumeci.

Whilst he already has accolades under his belt like becoming the first-ever black belt world champion from the Middle East at last year’s IBJJF No-Gi world championships, the stage couldn’t be any bigger for his next matchup.

Not only is he competing for a world championship against a man that many consider to be the top pound-for-pound competitor in the sport, Almarwai will face Musumeci in ONE Championship’s debut event in the United States.

In an interview with the promotion, Osamah Almarwai spoke about his upcoming ONE Championship debut and the stakes behind it:

“I’m very honored to be part of the history of ONE Championship now because it’s a historic moment. The first event in the US, and I’m fighting on the main card in a world title fight. I mean, it doesn’t get better than this.”

Musumeci vs. Almarwai for the flyweight submission grappling world championship is one of three world title matchups confirmed for May 5 in Broomfield, Colorado.

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Mikey Musumeci is thrilled he doesn’t have to face an "anti-jiu-jitsu" opponent in next match against Osamah Almarwai

At ONE Fight Night 10 on Prime Video, where he faces Osamah Almarwai in his second world title defense, Mikey Musumeci will get the chance to compete in the United States with the promotion.

Whilst he is excited to put on a show for the fans in Broomfield, Colorado, Musumeci is looking forward to the matchup itself. Osamah Almarwai is an accomplished No-Gi competitor, training out of the Atos Jiu-Jitsu Academy in San Diego, California under Andre Galvao.

After defeating the likes of multi-time sambo world champion Gantumur Bayanduuren, Mikey Musumeci is looking forward to competing against an opponent with a similar skill set to his. In an interview with the Jiu-Jitsu Times, he said:

"I feel like this match is so much more fun for me – that I can just focus on exciting jiu-jitsu. I don’t have to worry about that anti-jiu-jitsu style. I can just have fun. My favorite thing in the world is just doing jiu-jitsu."

Musumeci is more interested in improving his own skills and testing his creativity rather than trying to force opponents to engage with him. He added:

"That anti-jiu-jitsu style, where I have to chase people around, that’s not fun at all. But now I can have fun, and figure out new, cool things that I want to hit, and keep improving as a jiu-jitsu athlete."