HH Shaikh Khalid bin Hamad hails Bahrain MMA fighters performance

Manama, June 23 (BNA): The fifth European Open Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) Championship was held at Pellicone Pala Arena in Italy on June 18-23, in the presence of His Highness Shaikh Khalid bin Hamad Al Khalifa, First Deputy President of the Supreme Council for Youth and Sports and President of Bahrain Olympic Committee (BOC). HH Shaikh Khalid hailed the performances shown by the players in the championship, which was jointly organised by the International Mixed Martial Arts Federation and World Mixed Martial Arts Association IMMAF-WMMAA and the Federazione Italiana Grappling Mixed Martial Arts (FIGMMA). "This year's tournament is the highlight of all IMMAF-WMMA competitions, ahead of the biggest event; the 6th World Championship hosted here in Bahrain on November 9-16, as part of the International Combat Week Brave, which is considered as one of the biggest MMA events held in the Asian continent,” HH Shaikh Khalid said. “The European Championship gives us the opportunity to learn about the strength of the teams and the extent of their preparations for this season." "Despite the strong competition, fighters of the national team were able to prove their presence in the competition by attaining 10 wins, followed by the qualification of our young player Murad Ali to the final rounds. Foe the 77KG weight category and the qualification of six of our fighters to the semi-finals rounds in the adults category,” he added “We have great confidence in our fighters to show the best performance and honorable levels in the championship, in order to compete for distinct results, which are a great addition to the achievements of the national." The final stages of the championship has witnessed 68 fights in different weight and gender categories on Friday. BOC Member and Bahrain Mixed Martial Arts Federation (BMMAF) President Khalid bin Abdulaziz Al Khayyat attended the Extraordinary Meeting of the IMMAF-WMMA, which was headed by the President of Federation Kerrith Brown and was attended by representatives of all member states. Bahraini fighter Murad Ali has qualified to the final combat in the youth category for the weight 77 KG, while six Bahraini players qualified to the semifinal rounds in the adults category; Abdullah Al Yaqoub in the 56 KG weight, Idrees Mohammed in the 61 KG weight, Abdulmanaf Mohammedov in the 65 KG weight, Ramadan Jitnove in the 77 KG weight, Shamil Ghazi in the 120KG weight and Pasha Kharakshiv in the above heavyweight category. Four national team fighters in the youth category won bronze medals, and they are Ibrahim Darweesh, Shamil Ali, Ali Yaqoub and Yousif Sayyar.