Abu Dhabi: After hosting the ultimate in motorsport racing, the ultimate in world club football and the ultimate in air racing, Abu Dhabi is now ready to stage the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC).
For the first time in the history of UFC, the mixed martial arts championship which is considered as one of the world's greatest indoor sporting event, will make its debut as an outdoor event on April 10 at the Concert Arena of Ferrari World adjoining the Yas Marina Circuit on Yas Island.
Led by reigning UFC middleweight champion Anderson ‘The Spider' Silva, some of the world's leading mixed martial arts exponents were at the Yas Rotana Hotel yesterday displaying some of their striking and grappling skills which they intend to unleash with full force on Saturday.
Lined up as part of the historic open-air UFC 112 event, Silva takes on Brazilian Jiu-jitsu master Demian Maia for the Middleweight Belt while in the second title bout scheduled for the night, UFC lightweight champion BJ ‘The Prodigy' Penn puts his belt on the line against Frankie ‘The Answer' Edgar.
Light mood
Silva, considered to be the best pound-to-pound fighter, seemed to be in a very light mood as he went through his paces in front of the media. Speaking to Gulf News yesterday, Silva said, "I think it will be a 50-50 affair. I have not changed any tactics though it will be an outdoor event. I think it is going to be a lot of fun."
But waiting to ambush the unbeaten middleweight king is fellow Brazilian Maia, who told Gulf News that he was focusing on his mental strength for Saturday's showdown.
Dubbed as the best grappler against Silva, who is feared as the best striker, Maia said, "The thing I work most for this fight is my mind. My body and my technique, I always work hard but for this fight I am trying to work a lot my mind, my mental strength. In this sport everything should be sharp," said the 32-year-old from Sao Paulo.
His record of 12-1 may not compare favourably to the unbeaten Silva who is bidding to successfully defend his middleweight belt for the seventh time and Maia is aware of the task on hand.
Advantage
"Normally the grappler has more advantage but in the case of Anderson (Silva) he is a black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu also, so he is good in everything. If it was just grappling than I would be very sure of my chance but he is a good striker too. He does everything well," said Maia.
Both the champions were however unanimous in their praise for the host city. "Abu Dhabi is great place, a beautiful city. Two belts in one event, that is great and I thank Shaikh Tahnoun Bin Zayed Al Nahyan [Chairman of President's Private Department] for this. I hope we can please everyone in Abu Dhabi," said Silva.
"Though I have won the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Abu Dhabi World Championship twice in the US, this is my first visit here. It is so different and I like different cultures. Unlike Brazil, the US or South America it is different when you go to places like this or for that matter Japan or China. We can get to see the different cultures," said Silva's challenger Maia.
Are you interested in UFC? Do you plan to attend the fight over the weekend?
