The first Brave Mixed Martial Arts Championship held on Friday at the Khalifa Sports City hall in Isa Town was hailed as a big success.
Present to watch the exciting matches were the Representative of His Majesty the King for Charity Works and Youth Affairs, Chairman of the Supreme Council for Youth and Sports, President of Bahrain Olympic Committee, Shaikh Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa, and the Deputy President of the Supreme Council for Youth and Sports, President of Bahrain Athletics Association, and founder of Khalid bin Hamad Al Khalifa Mixed Martial Arts Organization (KHK MMA), Shaikh Khalid bin Hamad Al Khalifa.
Shaikh Nasser thanked the support given by the wise leadership to the youth and sports sector in the Kingdom, especially the sport of MMA, which recently brought Bahrain achievements and honourable results to put make Bahrain among the developed nations in MMA.
“HH Shaikh Khalid bin Hamad Al Khalifa played an active role by exerting great efforts to promote the culture of this sport in Bahrain, and at the regional and Asian level.
“These efforts impacted a wider spread of the sport to the youth, which in return brought many gains such as the BRAVE championship, which is a pure Bahraini concept that reflects the ambitions of the His Highness to promote Bahrain and attract wide international attention to this small country,” Shaikh Nasser said.
“We are happy with the launch of the first edition of this events, which is considered to be a real start in organising global MMA events on Bahrain’s ground. The championship competitions will be as fierce as competitions at the global championships.”
Shaikh Nasser is hoping for the emergence of more Bahraini fighters to participate and bring honorable results that will raise the name of the Kingdom in global events.
For his part, Shaikh Khalid praised Shaikh Nasser for his presence in the event which contributed to its success. He also praised Bahrainis who helped organise the event and make it successful.
“Today we witness the birth of BRAVE’s first MMA Championship, and we must congratulate ourselves for this step in organising the first global championship in the Kingdom of Bahrain which confirms that Bahrain is one of the developed countries in this sport,” Shaikh Khalid said.
“This event achieves our hopes of turning Bahrain into a global MMA destination, and strengthen our cooperation with the IMMAF and world organisations. 2015 was the year for establishing the sport and amateurs, 2016 is the year of professionals launching in the Kingdom of Bahrain.”
Shaikh Khalid congratulated Bahrain’s very own Hamza Al Kooheji for his victory against Egypt’s Mohammed Mashaly in the second round.
Shaikh Khalid also praised all the fighters for their strong performances and congratulated the winners wishing them luck in future events.
The championship was organised by KHK MMA Organization and the Khalid bin Hamad Organization with the help of Bahrain Mixed Martial Arts Association.