Abu Dhabi: You can call it a blood sport but mixed martial arts, or simply MMA, is emerging as one of the most popular and fastest growing sports around the globe. Since time immemorial there has been a fascination for man-to-man contests and if there is a fusion of athleticism and aggression then it provides the perfect mix of entertainment.
In MMA, a fighter has to more strategic and tactical than in any other combat sport. He has to be immensely athletic, sharp and immensely skilled.
Despite still being in its nascent stages, the sport has made inroads to Asia and last month two-time world boxing champion Amir Khan followed Filipino legend Manny Pacquiao by venturing into the MMA arena to invest in Asia-based fight promoter ONE Championship.
The Bolton fighter of Pakistan origin purchased stakes in the India-based Super Fight League (SFL), an MMA promotion.
The UAE has always been a huge market for cage fighting and people here line up to see the brutal combination of punches, kicks and knees.
In March this year, Abu Dhabi’s IPIC Arena hosted the second Abu Dhabi Warriors Fighting Championship, under the auspices of the Jiu-Jitsu Federation that was a smash hit.
To attract the local community, Physique TV airs a MMA-centric show with Arabic commentary and analysis from experts and that has led to increased viewership.
One of the main reasons for the popularity of the sport in this part of the world is due to the tremendous influence of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu — an art form which is absolutely vital when it comes to MMA.
UAE’s contribution to Jiu-Jitsu is tremendous and after Brazil, UAE tops the chart for following the sport. From the army to the school curriculum, Jiu-Jitsu has become a key element thanks to the vision of Shaikh Tahnoun Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy National Security Adviser.
An MMA fighter is no good if he doesn’t have the expertise of Jiu-Jitsu and so it is quite understandable why most Jiu-Jitsu fighters are inclined towards MMA.
UAE hosts a series of top class Jiu-Jitsu events including the newly launched Grand Slam World Tour. The Abu Dhabi Combat Club too organises 29 grappling and submission fights apart from the world submission championship that happens every two years.
Nevertheless, despite having hosted some of the high profile MMA fights in the past, both at the capital and in Dubai, UAE are yet to produce its own MMA prodigy.
One of the main reasons for that is the combination of martial arts that goes into making a lethal package. It is essential to have a perfect combination of boxing, kick boxing, muay thai, wrestling (free style and Grecco-Roman), judo and most importantly, Grappling (Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu).
As per this year’s record, at the grassroot level in the UAE, 47,000 school students took up Jiu-Jitsu and if there is a chance of any one emerging on the MMA big stage, there is a high possibility of it being from UAE.
Top Brazilian coach Ramon Lemos and Roberto Correa who were roped in by UAE Jiu-Jitsu Federation to share their expertise in the grappling game were recently unanimous in their view that MMA graduation can happen through Jiu-Jitsu.
“After seeing the sheer number of kids who have taken keen interest in Jiu-Jitsu here, I can say that UAE has created a great platform for youth to graduate into MMA,” said Lemos, who has trained MMA fighters such as former UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva and Rodrigo “Minotauro”.
Correa, too, found grassroot level programmes extremely effective in developing skills at a young age.
“I feel after Brazil, the love for the sport like Jiu-Jitsu is here. If the children start at a very young age, they can diversify their expertise in other martial arts and that’s how the UAE can find their very own MMA fighter. This can happen only with a strong base and a set-up like this,” added Correa.
There is also reluctance among the enthusiasts in taking up MMA because of the myth that it can cause serious, irreparable neurological damage.
Fighters are often seen asking their training partners to punch them in the face to test their mettle and injuries are very much a routine part of the sport.
According to research conducted recently, fighters with years of bouts can develop lowered brain mass.
Many are also of the notion that MMA is akin to streetfighting and will encourage aggression among the youth and can harm the participants and society in general.
But with the soaring TRPs for the sport and live bouts being a crowd puller, specialised centres for MMA have cropped up across UAE over the past few years. The response, however, has been lukewarm if you are looking for anyone turning pro. One of the main reasons apart from health scares, is it is extremely taxing to acquire proficiency in all major martial arts.
Most of the MMA centres have begun to promote the sport as an alternative to traditional fitness regime. Weight loss, circuit and strength and conditioning training are tailored to individual requirements. This indeed is a step forward in providing variety for the fitness freaks but as far as going pro is concerned, apart from the kids, very few have dared to come forward or they have left it midway.
When Gulf News contacted a few of the centres in UAE, found that kids between the age group of 4-10 are more inclined towards MMA.
“At the kids’ level, they do want to pursue MMA as a career; at least as of now they do keep saying it. We do have a batch of 30-40 kids and many even for personalised training. But we don’t know how serious they would be as they grow old,” said a Dubai-based Champions Club spokesperson.
Zayed Obaid Al Kaabi, who is also in the UAE national squad and is a purple belt holder, is also a keen MMA enthusiast and dreams of turning pro one day.
“I do like MMA and there is something special about MMA fighters as it creates lot of excitement. It is fast paced and you don’t know what a fighter would pull off suddenly,” said the 25-yr-old adding, “There are few Jiu-Jitsu fighters whom I know are training to get into MMA and hopefully very soon we will have some representation from our country.”
