Osamah Almarwai ‘never thought’ he would be in ONE Championship

Osamah Almarwai never thought he would have the opportunity to compete on the world’s biggest stage.

On May 5, Yemen’s first black belt IBJJF no-gi world champion will not only make his ONE Championship debut, but he will also have an opportunity to become a ONE world champion, challenging the flyweight division’s reigning titleholder, Mikey Musumeci. Discussing the day ONE reached out to him with the news, Almarwai said:

“I like how they appreciate the athletes,” Almarwai told the promotion in a recent interview. “When they reached out to me, it was very professional. And I loved it. I never thought I would be in ONE, to be honest. But after I won No-Gi Worlds, I was hopeful.”

Receiving his black belt under Brazilian jiu-jitsu legend Andre Galvao, Osamah Almarwai has established himself as one of the best grapplers in the world today. But getting a win on combat sports’ grandest stage will be no easy task, especially when it comes against a five-time IBJJF world champion.

Mikey Musumeci has established himself as one of the world’s premiere submission grappling superstars. His unique style of fighting with his infectious personality and remarkable training regime have made him both a fan favorite and an undefeated ONE world champion inside the Circle.

‘Darth Rigatoni’ made waves in his promotional debut, submitting Japanese grappling legend Masakazu Imanari just past the four-minute mark of their match at ONE 156 last year.

He followed that up with a dominant decision victory over Cleber Sousa to become the promotion's first-ever ONE submission grappling world champion. After a successful title defense against Mongolia’s Gantumur Bayanduuren, Musumeci will return to add another name to his hit list. The name being Osamah Almarwai.