Jordanian Abdulkareem Selwady defeated Iraq’s Rami Aziz in the Main Event of Brave ‘The Beginning’ which took place at the Khalifa Sports City hall in Isa Town yesterday.
The lightweight fight saw Selwady claim victory after four minutes and 30 seconds.
The duo, who had a war of words leading to this event, went in eyeing glory in front of a packed crowd.
Also attending the matches were His Majesty the King’s Representative for Charity Works and Youth Affairs, Supreme Council for Youth and Sports Chairman and Bahrain Olympic Committee President Shaikh Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa as well as Supreme Council for Youth and Sports First Deputy Chairman, Bahrain Athletics Association President and Khalid bin Hamad Al Khalifa Mixed Martial Arts Organisation (KHK MMA) Founder Shaikh Khalid bin Hamad Al Khalifa.
Selwady managed to end the fight almost untouched as he was on top of his opponent for most of the round.
“We did have beef between us and he said stuff about me not being able to fight on social media which led up to this fight, but I made sure all he had was just words,” a confident Selwady said after the fight.
“I’d like to thank the people of Bahrain, and Shaikh Nasser and Shaikh Khalid for their support to the fighters and to MMA,” he added.
Selwady said that whatever happened between him and his opponent Aziz was in the past and the pair hugged it out after the fight.
The co-main event of the night saw KHK MMA’s Russian fighter Gadzhimosa Gaziev register a first round victory against Brazilian Thiago Vierra.
The welterweight fight lasted for two minutes and 30 seconds and the key moment was when the Brazilian kicked Gaziev in his sides only for the latter to bring him down to the floor and defeat him.
Another KHK MMA Russian fighter Eldar Eldarov claimed a unanimous victory over Argentinian Kevin Koldobsky at the welterweight division.
Eldarov was the better fighter in the ring and found no difficulty in firing shots either way at his opponent.
Koldobsky was brought down to the ground a couple of times and the fight was stopped till he got back on his feet.
However, in the third round, Eldarov’s punches had their effect on Koldobsky who was seen unable to stand on his feet.
The Argentinian managed to stay on his feet though until the end of the bout as Eldarov steered his points tally to victory.
Egypt’s Ahmed Amir claimed a surprising victory over Richie Martinez after he managed to reverse a submissive move.
Amir highlighted the win was due to Martinez being a full jiu jitsu fighter and not an MMA fighter, claiming that as the reason he easily found an escape from the submissive move.
India’s Abdul Munir was defeated by Mexican Masio Fullen in the featherweight fight of the night.
Fullen, who stepped up the ring fully clothed in a traditional Mexican uniform and hat, won the hearts of the spectators with his speedy hands and quick moves.
The Mexican claimed a tap-out knockout victory.
Bahrain’s very own Hamza Al Kooheji claimed a tap out win over Egypt’s Mohammed Mashaly.
Kooheji had the upper hand during the first round of the bout as he managed to put Mashaly to the ground and fired multiple punches and elbows to his head.
The second round saw Kooheji start out tough attacking his Egyptian opponent while the fans cheered their national fighter.
He quickly managed to pick up Mashaly and throw him down, back first, choking him to the ground while launching another set of punches until the latter tapped out.
Kooheji expressed his pride in playing in front of the home crowd.
“People say playing in front of your home crowd creates pressure, but to me, these aren’t fans, these people are family and friends,” he said.
“It’s a pleasure to play for them, in front of them, and I also feel so much better having won in front of them,” Kooheji added.
Another Bahraini too was in the spotlight yesterday. Mohammed Atif was handed his first professional debut when he came up against India’s Sunny Khari.
The fight, which was categorised as straw weight, saw Atif claimed a unanimous win.
The fight was slow, as both players were short on experience. However, Atif chased his opponent for the three rounds to deservedly win the match.
In other fights from the prelim stages, Ireland’s Frans Mlambo was defeated by Philipines Stephen Loman at the bantam weight by unanimous decision.
Indian Mohammed Farhad knocked out Morroco’s Badr Eddine, also at the bantam weights, through a knock out.
Mexico’s Ivan Lopez found an easy win against Philippine’s Jessie Rafols as he claimed the win in the first round of the flyweight fight, through a submission.