Osamah Almarwai

Osamah Almarwai, commonly known as Osa, is a jiu-jitsu black belt under André Galvão and a representative of the Atos Academy in the sport’s global circuit. Osamah Almarwai is also the first BJJ black belt from the Republic of Yemen, and the first Yemen citizen to win an International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation (IBJJF) World title, which Osa conquered in 2021 in the brown belt roosterweight division.

Osamah Almarwai Jiu-Jitsu

Full Name: Osamah Ali Almarwai

Nickname: “Osa”, which is a play on his name Osamah, and the word “Osu”, a commonly known greeting used in martial arts.

Lineage: Carlos Gracie > Reyson Gracie > Osvaldo Alves > Luis Dagmar >André Galvão > Osamah Almarwai

Main Achievements:

• 1st Place IBJJF World Championship NOGI (2022)
• 1st Place IBJJF Pans Championship NOGI (2022)
• 1st Place IBJJF American Nationals NOGI (2022)
• 1st Place IBJJF World Master (2022)
• 2nd Place IBJJF American Nationals (2022)
• 3rd Place ADCC Las Vegas Open (2022)

Main Achievements (Colored Belts):

• #1 IBJJF Rooster Weight No-Gi Rankings (2021 brown)
• 1st Place IBJJF World Championship NOGI (2021 brown)
• 1st Place IBJJF American Nationals (2021 brown)
• 1st Place IBJJF American Nationals NOGI (2021 brown)
• 2nd Place IBJJF Pans Championship NOGI (2020 brown)
• 2nd Place IBJJF Pan Championship (2021 brown)
• 3rd Place IBJJF World Championship (2021 brown)

Favorite Position/Technique: Well Rounded

Weight Division: Peso Galo (57,50 kg / 127.0 lbs)

Team/Association: Atos JJ

Osamah Almarwai Biography

Osamah Almarwai was born on April 11, 1992, in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Despite being born in The Land Of The Two Mosques, “Osa” was registered as a Yemeni (citizen of Yemen) due to his parents being of Saudi Arabia’s neighboring country.

Growing up Osa was a big fan of football (soccer) and an avid player with aspirations to become a professional athlete. Although aspiring to become a footballer, Almarwai did dab into the world of martial arts for a very short while during his early teens, first through taekwondo and later with jiu-jitsu, though the full extent of these experiences lasted a mere 2 months.

During his late teens, Osamah Almarwai moved to the United States to study the English language, staying in Orlando, Florida. While in America, Osa wanted to practice a sport to keep active and decided to try the free jiu-jitsu classes on offer at his university. Although short, the experience was very positive and led him to continue his training upon the return to Jeddah, training alongside his brother, Almohanad at a gym led by Mohammed Dabbas.

Osa trained in Saudi Arabia for 7 years, from 2011-2018, being coached by Mohammed Dabbas, Gerardo Dudamell – who awarded Almarwai his purple belt – and Karim Shah who promoted the Yemeni athlete to the brown belt rank before he moved once again to the US.

Arriving in Florida, Almarwai trained with Fight Sports before he was transferred to California where he joined the Atos Headquarters crew. At the time, Osa arrived during the 2019 ADCC camp and felt as though there was no tougher training room in the world, a sentiment that led him to settle in San Diego.

Despite working full-time in the industrial engineering industry as an analyst, Osa was able to show continued progress on the mats and positive results in the competitive arena. These led to Osamah Almarwai’s black belt promotion during the early weeks of 2022 from the hands of André Galvão.