Dubai: Tam Khan is hoping local attitudes towards mixed martial arts (MMA) will change readily for the UAE to meet its potential after his protégé Mohammad Yahya became the first Emirati to join an international promotion last week.
Yahya, 23, signed a four-fight deal with Bellator MMA, which is the world’s second biggest promotion behind the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), on June 19.
Thanks to the interest of local rulers, jiu-jitsu — one of many disciplines that make up MMA — is already hugely popular in the UAE and is even practised in local schools.
However, until now, no one has made that leap into professional MMA, perhaps due to the way the wider sport is perceived.
“We’ve got a lot of talent the only barrier is the parents,” said Khan, 36, a Brit-Afghan former fighter who claims to have brought MMA to the UAE in 2007, opening the first MMA-specific gym here in 2010.
“MMA was always seen as violent and parents wouldn’t let their kids pursue the sport, but having an Emirati reach the top level will push the sport and help break barriers to show people that it is respectable and recognised.
“Wrestling is mentioned in the Quran as one of the fundamentals of keeping fit, so it does fit with the local culture here more than some people might think. There is skill to it, it is more than just hitting, it is safer than boxing, and there are over 2,000 ways to stop your opponent.
“If more Emiratis see that, they will let their kids do it and give them the green light to go ahead and pursue it full-time.
“It is hard to say how long this will take but with a star to look up to like Yahya it could take just months to a year, then with funding through sponsorship and the sports council, and pushing it through schools, the sky is the limit. Once we have the support of the community the rest is easy I believe.”
As well as changing the perception of the sport at a local level, Khan says Yahya’s Bellator contract will also change international opinion of the UAE’s fight scene.
“Maybe they thought it wasn’t serious, just a few pretentious gyms with no talent, but if we show we can stick with the best, more people will come here for training camps instead of Thailand and Brazil, and this could become a hub for the sport.
“Now we are getting a legitimate label and the world is starting to take notice,” added Khan, who has also seen another of his Dubai-based fighters Dutch/Turk Gokhan Saki, 33, sign a multi-fight deal with UFC last month.
“Saki was already an experienced and established kickboxer and the UFC come along and pick the best from every sport, but to have built an Emirati fighter from scratch makes Yahya even more special,” said Khan of his two fighters. “That was my dream all along to prove we could do it and we did.”
Thanks to strong viewership in the Middle East through OSN, the UFC has already delved into the region with two events in Abu Dhabi in 2010 and 2014, opening gyms nationwide. Bellator might also hold an event here now that Yahya is on their roster.
While signing a local fighter is a sure fire way of growing business in the region — through TV pay-per-views, merchandise and gym membership — Yahya is no marketing ploy.
“Both promotions have reached out to me before and I’ve told them we didn’t have anyone ready,” said Khan. “If I feel someone isn’t ready I wouldn’t push them, but now Yahya is the perfect age, he soaks up knowledge, and he’s grown by training alongside Saki. With the right resources through sponsorship for camps there’s no reason why he can’t be the same.”
So, is UFC the end goal for Yahya? “Let’s see, Bellator is the fastest growing promotion, so you never know, if they keep going the way they are he could stay there, but through Saki and Yahya we have access to both promotions. Fighters make avenues for their sparring partners, that’s the way MMA works and that’s how people are scouted.
“But Yahya’s so young, fighters peak at 35-years-old, so he has years ahead of him and the sky is the limit.
“What he has shown is that an Emirati can reach the top level, promotions are starting to take notice and that anyone can do it.”
There are no confirmed dates for Yahya and Saki’s first fights in Bellator and UFC, but both are expected to debut sometime in the autumn.
