WATCH: Emirati fighters steal the show at Abu Dhabi Youth MMA Championships – News

Tournament features intense fights with 30 fights in various weight classes in front of raucous crowds

Promising young mixed martial arts talent from the UAE continued to put on a strong show at the fourth edition of the Youth MMA Championship at the Mubadala Arena in Zayed Sports City on Saturday.

As many as 40 Emirati youths took part in the Octagon Championship, which was considered the perfect lead-up to the Youth MMA World Championships in August.

In front of a raucous crowd, matches feature 30 match cards in various weight classes with intense battles. Saeed Al Hosani capped off a tense afternoon with a win over Mansoor Al Sayed in the 70.3kg Main Event.

Abdel Moneim Al Hashemi, Chairman of the United Arab Emirates Jiu-Jitsu Federation and Mixed Martial Arts Federation, and the Chairman of the Asian MMA Federation attended the competition and presented awards to the winners.

Al Hashemi said the Youth MMA Championships cemented Abu Dhabi’s position as one of the top combat sports destinations. “The high participation in the Youth MMA Championship 4 is a testament to the existence of a talent pool capable of competing for the UAE national team and raising the country’s flag on the international podium,” he said.

“This is the fourth MMA event we’ve held and one after another we’ve noticed a lot of improvement in our young fighters as they become more familiar with the rules of the fight they need to follow, all for the world MMA Junior Championships,” said Mohammed Al Hosani, a member of the federation’s Mixed Martial Arts Committee.

“We have over 40 Emirati and another 20 Arabs. So this match can be considered an Arab or regional championship. It is vital to ensure our players have the opportunity to network with top athletes from all over the world. The experience required before going to the world championships.”

UAE champion Ali Al Najjar, competing in the Junior C 40kg category, was crowned after a win over rival Rakan Al Yammahi.

Sultan Al Ghusain defeated Salim Al Shamsi in the decisive match to win the Junior A 65.8kg category.

Other winners include Omar Al Jabri (37kg) and Saeed Ahmed (57kg) from Youth D; Mayed Al Hosani (37kg), Kamal Abdullatif (44kg), Mansoor Al Kaabi (62kg) from Youth C ), Yaseen Al Haj (40kg) and Yousef Al Khoori (62kg); Ismail Ahmed (50kg), Aisha Al Hammadi (57kg), Khaled Zawia (65kg), Yunish Jakouch (48kg) in Youth B and Amer Own (60kg); and Ahmed Al Jaberi (52.2kg), Abdalla Mahdi (67kg), Mansoor Al Harthi (61.2kg), Kutayba Al Kontar (70kg) and Abdallah Al Tamimi (65.8kg) in Youth A Group.

Meanwhile, the youth category was won by Yousef Al Mohsen (67kg), while Mourad Ech-Chably (65.8kg) and Mohammed Al Shehhi (65.8kg) were the senior category winners.