Diego “Pato” Oliveira set to make ONE Championship debut in August
Diego “Pato” Oliveira will make his ONE Championship submission grappling debut against Rodrigo Marello at ONE Fight Night 13.
Multiple-time IBJJF world champion and recent ADCC medalist Diego “Pato” Oliveira has joined ONE Championship’s ever-growing submission grappling roster and is set to make his debut later this summer.
On August 4, at ONE Fight Night 13, the Art of Jiu-Jitsu representative will square off with Rodrigo Marello in a 10-minute submission-only match to be contested at 145 pounds.
One of the sport’s most active and accomplished competitors, “Pato” is fresh off a gold medal performance at the 2023 IBJJF Worlds – his second such title as a black belt. And in addition to his accomplishments in the gi, he has proven to be an equally successful no-gi competitor, winning gold at the 2021 IBJJF No-Gi Pans and Worlds, on top of a third-place finish at the 2022 ADCC World Championships.
Oliveira possesses a well-rounded game, but generally does his best work attacking from his guard, and has proven to be one of the planet’s top leg lockers in no-gi. Notably, at the 2022 ADCC World Championships, he secured a Z-lock submission on returning silver medalist Kennedy Maciel.
The addition of “Pato” to ONE’s roster could open the door for a potential match-up against current 125-pound submission grappling champion Mikey Musumeci. The pair have met once before as black belts when Musumeci submitted Oliveira with an ankle lock at the 2020 IBJJF European Championships.
Oliveira’s opponent, Marello, is a ONE veteran but much less known and accomplished. He made his promotional debut last September, submitting Sambo player Ruslan Bagdasarian with a Caio Terra foot lock in a record-setting 15 seconds.
How to watch: ONE Fight Night 13 takes place on Friday, August 4, and will air live on Prime Video (free with Amazon Prime subscription) beginning at 8:00 PM ET.
