Osamah Almarwai was born and raised in Saudi Arabia to Yemeni parents and will compete in the Middle East for the first time since becoming a black belt when he takes on Cleber Sousa at ONE 166 on March 1 in Qatar.
“Osa” was the first athlete from the region to become an IBJJF world champion and is immensely proud to be blazing a trail for Arabic fighters at the highest level of grappling.
The Brazilian jiu-jitsu star moved to the US to study English when he was a teenager and is intent on achieving his dream of a ONE World Title and inspiring the next crop of youngsters to follow his path.
“It’s an honor for me to represent our region, make history and inspire future generations,” Almarwai told Arab News.
The 31-year-old trains at the famed ATOS Jiu-Jitsu academy alongside ONE Championship champions Kade and Tye Ruotolo, and under grappling legend Andre Galvao.
“Before ATOS, I was training in small academies, so I hope this can inspire a lot of young people that it can happen, you know, no matter where you train, as long as you put the work in,” Almarwai said, reflecting on his journey so far.
“A lot of fans message me videos of their kids doing jiu-jitsu, and I didn’t know that I had influence on people in the region, you know, so it’s a very big honor for me, and I hope I can keep inspiring them. Now that I’m on ONE Championship in the first event in the Middle East in Qatar, I cannot tell you how much that means to me,” he added.
Having garnered global attention from his world title win, Almarwai was called out by ONE Flyweight Submission Grappling World Champion Mikey Musumeci. “Darth Rigatoni” provided a baptism of fire for the ATOS star’s promotional debut and won via rear-naked choke submission at ONE Fight Night 10 last year.
In Sousa, Almarwai faces another formidable opponent but an opportunity to get back on the path to ONE Championship gold.
“I love it, man. I called him out a while ago, and now it’s happening. He’s a tough opponent, very explosive, and I’m very excited for this matchup. The fans should expect a very exciting match and hopefully the sub for me,” said the Jeddah-born fighter.
“Clandestino” will also be making his sophomore appearance for the organization and is also coming off of a loss to Musumeci on his debut.
“I believe I have better technique than him,” said Almarwai.
“He’s more explosive, probably, but in terms of strategy and so on, I feel I’m better than him at that aspect, but both of us will be pushing the pace, you know? If you can, if we see our matches, we’re always like pushing the pace and both of us are always going for submissions,” he added.
With this being ONE Championship’s first show in the Middle East, the card represents part of a massive boom for combat sports in MENA in recent years.
“I think the Middle East is going to take over the martial arts scene, especially with the financial capabilities,” the BJJ icon said.
“I think a lot of fighters are very interested and are coming over here. When I started competing in jiu-jitsu, that wasn’t the case. We didn’t have that much martial arts, but now I’ve seen it growing, and being part of it, and being part of that success, it means a lot to me, you know? I cannot wait to see how the martial arts scene in the Middle East is going to be in the next five or 10 years,” he added.
Aside from wanting to start his own academy to nurture the scene further, Almarwai dreams of feeling the weight of the ONE World Title on his shoulders.
“My goal is to win this match, make another match, and then get another shot at the title. I don’t know if it’s going be Mikey, but I really want to win that ONE Championship belt. I remember my previous match; I had the photo shoot where I had the belt on me, and that belt is so heavy. It feels good.”
