MMA – Bahrain’s Hamad Marhoon is set to make his professional mixed martial arts (MMA) debut when he steps inside the Professional Fighters League (PFL) SmartCage tomorrow at the PFL Mena Finals: All or Nothing card in Al Khobar, Saudi Arabia.
After a solid amateur career, Marhoon will be appearing in his first professional fight against Moroccan Walid Gounaine, who is also set to battle in his first pro MMA contest.
Marhoon took a moment to reflect on his journey before he begins his career as an MMA fighter and how he got to this point.
Marhoon was supposed to compete at the last PFL Mena card in September, but his fight was ultimately scrapped after his opponent missed weight.
Presented with another opportunity to showcase his skills on the international stage, Marhoon is nothing but grateful.
“Of course, I’m grateful to have an opportunity like this,” he said. “Since I was a kid, I’ve been working hard and believing in myself, and I’m ready for challenges and opportunities like this.”
Speaking of his youth, Marhoon revealed that the person who inspired him to get into the sport was veteran Bahraini MMA fighter Hamza Kooheji.
“He is my inspiration, and I got into this sport because of him,” Marhoon said of Kooheji, who owns a 14-3 professional record and is a multiple-time title challenger in his career.
“When I was a kid, I remember I was walking outdoors, and I saw some post of him saying he was going to fight. I didn’t know anything about MMA. Since that day, I searched and joined the team.”
Now, Marhoon will begin to carve his own path in the sport, and he’s nothing but confident ahead of his first pro bout.
“I’m ready,” he expressed. “Whatever he’s going to bring to the table, I’ll be ready. Up, down, anywhere. I see myself being well-prepared.”
In Gounaine, Marhoon will be facing a decorated Combat Sambo practitioner, and as such, he’s prepared for the fight by working on his ground game.
“In the last camp, it was more about focusing on striking, but I was also mixing it up with cage control,” Marhoon explained. “In this camp, we have been working more on wrestling and ground and pound.”
Come fight night tomorrow, Marhoon says that it’s up to him to decide how the fight will end.
“I have sub and knockout, we’ll see which one I’m going to pick,” he said. “I think I’m ready for whatever’s going to stand in front of me.”
PFL Mena Finals: All or Nothing takes place at the Dhahran Expo in Khobar.
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