Gabriel Sousa says ONE gives grapplers a chance to turn their passion into a career: “It is difficult to make a living from the sport”
Gabriel Sousa knows all too well about the struggles of trying to make a living as a professional grappler.
After earning more than 100 career victories, Sousa will finally have the chance to showcase his skills on martial arts' biggest global stage when he makes his ONE Championship debut on Friday, June 7. On that night, Sousa will square off with reigning ONE flyweight submission grappling world champion Mikey Musumeci in a massive bantamweight rematch nearly three years in the making.
Ahead of his first appearance with the promotion, Sousa shared his appreciation for what ONE Championship is doing to bring BJJ to the forefront and give grapplers a chance to make a living from the sport.
Speaking in an interview with ONE, Sousa said:
"The structure that ONE has for an athlete’s career is certainly incredible! It is one of the events that pays the athlete the best because it is difficult to make a living from the sport."
"Many people think it is easy, but it is difficult. Even more so when you are not valued. It's very difficult to make a living from jiu-jitsu, many people just survive."
Mikey Musumeci seeks redemption against Gabriel Sousa at ONE 167
While the stage will be new to Gabriel Sousa at ONE 167, the opponent will not. The Brazilian grappling standout previously shared the mat with Mikey Musumeci under the Who's Number One banner in September 2021.
Shockingly, Sousa scored a north-south choke submission victory over Musumeci — a loss 'Darth Rigatoni' has been chomping at the bit to rectify ever since. He'll finally get that chance when ONE Championship heads back to the iconic Impact Arena in Bangkok, Thailand.
Will Musumeci even the series against the 27-year-old submission star, or will Gabriel Sousa go two-up on the New Jersey native? Let us know your prediction via the poll below.
ONE Championship fans in the United States and Canada can watch ONE 167 live and for free via Amazon Prime Video in U.S. primetime on Friday, June 7.