Underestimate Osamah Almarwai at your peril.
The Yemeni grappler challenges ONE flyweight world champion Mikey Musumeci at ONE Championship’s historic U.S. debut event, “ONE Fight Night 10: Johnson vs. Moraes III” on Prime Video, on May 5, and he has a mountain to climb if he wants to dethrone one of the world’s best grapplers.
That said, Almarwai has all the necessary skills to offer a significant challenge to Musumeci, and here we break down three reasons why it won’t be surprising if the debuting star leaves the Circle with the gold on May 5.
1. He is a finisher
Almarwai is a known submission threat.
His win rate may be comparable to those of Musumeci’s previous opponents, but it’s the variety of submissions he has employed that makes him so interesting.
Among “Osa’s” 22 grappling victories are finishes via rear-naked choke, anaconda choke, head-and-arm choke, straight ankle lock, and even calf slicer.
With submissions from almost all positions under his belt, Almarwai will be a threat wherever the contest goes against “Darth Rigatoni.”
2. He has some of ONE’s best grapplers in his corner
Almarwai can tap into the best minds in ONE’s grappling ranks on a daily basis.
The 31-year-old trains at Atos Jiu Jitsu in San Diego, California, under the tutelage of Brazilian jiu-jitsu icon and ONE competitor Andre Galvao and alongside two of the promotion’s best canvas-based athletes.
ONE lightweight submission grappling world champion Kade Ruotolo and twin brother Tye – another grappling phenom undefeated in ONE – also call Atos home and have spent plenty of time rolling with Almarwai.
With that kind of know-how in his corner, you can bet that the Yemeni black belt will come fully prepared on May 5.
3. He is an IBJJF no-gi world champion
Since bursting onto the grappling scene as a brown belt in 2021, Almarwai has quickly established himself as a no-gi grappling specialist.
Following a decorated run, Almarwai was awarded his black belt at the beginning of 2022, and he went on to claim the IBJJF World and Pan Championships in the no-gi category, along with numerous other accolades.
Under ONE’s submission grappling ruleset, athletes compete with no gi, so the debuting challenger will quickly become comfortable inside the ONE circle when he takes on Musumeci at ONE Fight Night 10.
