Mikey Musumeci To Defend Submission Grappling World Title Against Osamah Almarwai At ONE Fight Night 10

Published 02/15/2023, 1:53 AM EST

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ONE Flyweight Submission Grappling World Champion Mikey “Darth Rigatoni” Musumeci’s second World Title defense is locked in for ONE Fight Night 10: Johnson vs. Moraes III on Prime Video. 

The organization revealed the news on its official website on Tuesday, February 14. 

Musumeci will face off against Almarwai at ONE’s on-ground U.S. debut event on Friday, May 5, at the 1stBank Center in Broomfield, Colorado. 

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The American powerhouse has looked unstoppable throughout his tenure at the Singapore-based outfit, and another victory would further cement his status as one of the planet’s top pound-for-pound grapplers

The power of Mikey Musumeci

“Darth Rigatoni” made easy work of Japanese MMA and BJJ Legend Masakazu “Ashikan-Judan” Imanari in his promotional debut last April. 

After immediately sitting to guard, he engaged in a brief leg lock position with the submission specialist – one of the best leg lockers in MMA – then came out in top position with side control.

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From there, the submission grappling superstar moved to Imanari’s back, trapping his arm, and sank in a clean rear-naked choke for the tap. 

The 26-year-old put on a far more relentless display in his sophomore outing against longtime foe Cleber Sousa in September. 

The inaugural ONE Flyweight Submission Grappling World Title was on the line that evening, and Musumeci made the most of his chance at gold. He spent the majority of the match with waves of submission attempts from Sousa’s vaunted open guard and constantly pressed the Brazilian to pick up a deserved decision win.

First title defense opened the gateway for the second

“Darth Rigatoni” returned for his third ONE appearance and first World Title defense at ONE Fight Night 6 last month and showed his dominance once more in an intense leg-breaking showdown with Combat Sambo World Champion Gantumur Bayanduuren.

The bout was an eye-opening encounter for the New Jersey native, and his next opponent could give him a similar test.

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Saudi Arabian and Yemeni star Almarwai has spent years refining his grappling tools under the guidance of icon of the sport and ONE superstar Andre Galvao.

His list of accolades include gold medals at the 2022 IBJJF No-Gi World Championship medal, IBJJF No-Gi American Nationals, and Pan American Championships.

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Those performances piqued the interest of the ONE matchmakers, who have now given him a career-defining battle against Musumeci at ONE Fight Night 10: Johnson vs. Moraes III on Prime Video on Friday, May 5.

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Written by:

Mayur Soni

906Articles

One take at a time

Mayur Soni is a UFC Writer at EssentiallySports. His interest in the UFC heightened when he first saw his favorite fighter Conor McGregor knockout Jose Aldo in mere 13 seconds, in 2015. He thus got hooked on the sport.
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Edited by:

Rohini Kottu