Gabriel Sousa left home at the age of 15 to dedicate his life to Brazilian jiu-jitsu. His bold decision was fraught with doubt and difficulty, though there were early signs that the ambitious Fortaleza, Brazil, native had made a wise choice. Sousa’s talent stood out above his peers.

“The first time I left my home state was for a world competition in Sao Paulo as an orange belt,” he told Sherdog.com. “Going to and competing in a big place like Sao Paulo seemed like an unlikely goal for someone from a poor family. I competed at the world championship in California as a blue belt and placed second. When I got back home to Brazil, things started to improve.”

Soon after, Sousa made an even more drastic move.

“I decided to stay in the U.S. in 2016 since it was hard to travel from my home in the northeast of Brazil,” he said. “I started working at Lucas Rocha’s academy. I earned my black belt under him. I’ve been in the U.S. ever since. I moved from California to North Carolina, and now I’m in New York.”

It was a difficult road to travel.

“I come from a poor family, and they were never able to cover competition costs,” Sousa said. “I’m actually thankful for that. It taught me to run after my own goals and not depend on anyone else. I had to hustle and pay in sweat to make it this far. No one put money in my hand for passports, travel visas or anything else. I worked hard for everything I achieved.

“Today, I’m on a high enough level to compete at ONE Championship, one of the best professional organizations in the world,” he added. “This all started when I was a white belt. I had zero talent but all the willpower. Ever since ONE added grappling matches, my manager and I planned to have me join the organization. I’m looking forward to a debut in the best possible way.”

Sousa will have to hit the ground running in his first assignment with the Singapore-based company, as he faces reigning ONE Championship flyweight submission grappling titleholder Mikey Musumeci in a non-title ONE 167 clash at 145 pounds this Friday at Impact Arena in Bangkok, Thailand. He was the last man to defeat Musumeci, having tapped him with a north-south choke in September 2021.

“Mikey is sensational,” Sousa said. “I passed his guard twice and submitted him. I believe I’m the only lighter athlete to accomplish this. He’s won the worlds many times. He’s beyond the curve, but I’m also very tough. I believe our chances are 50/50. It can go either way. It’s hard to say how things will play out. I feel he’ll start by beckoning me into his guard. I’ll pass his guard. That’s the truth. I don’t see him trying to wrestle me or pass my guard. I see him staying on the bottom and doing his leg game. It’s something he does very well.

“We’ve trained for what is likely to happen in the bout,” he added. “I’ll avoid his leg attacks, but I have very good leg attacks of my own. It’s a matter of attacking at the right time. I’ll pass his guard and hopefully take his back and choke him out.”

Obviously, a second win over Musumeci would put Sousa in position to potentially call his shot in ONE, though the Abu Dhabi Combat Club Submission Fighting World Championships are set to draw his attention Aug. 17-18 in Las Vegas.

“My plan is to right now is to beat Mikey,” he said. “Then I’ll focus on ADCC. Later, I’ll turn my attention to lobbying so ONE creates a 145-pound belt, so I can become its champion.”