Russian triumphs in titanic clash

Abu Dhabi: Almost one year after the region got its own Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) franchise it has its first champion.

Shamil ‘Rostov-on-Don' Abdurahimov won the Abu Dhabi Fighting Championship (ADFC) open weight Grand Prix on Friday night to become the first ADFC Champion and take home the Dh1-million grand prize. Abdurahimov defeated his opponent Brazilian Marcos Oliveira in 1:56 of the first round with a technical knockout (TKO) due to strikes.

The fight began with both fighters testing each other out with feints. Abdurahimov threw a leg kick just as Oliveira dove in for a takedown attempt which the Russian quickly stuffed, Oliveira would try again but Abdurahimov's takedown defence was perfect. Oliveira finding himself on the bottom grabbed the Russian's leg and tried to go for a heel hook submission. Abdurahimov used pure strength to get his leg free, then took advantage of Oliveira lying prone on the mat and began raining down blows on the Brazilian who could only cover up and wait for the referee to stop the fight.

The champion began to pray after the belt was placed around his waist. Asked who he wants to fight for his first title defence he said, "I don't have anyone specific in mind, there are a lot of champions out there and I want to fight each of them."

Emotional

He added that he still has no plans on how to spend the money but he is sure he'll find a way. Abdurahimov's punches were so strong that he broke his right hand; this will most likely delay his first title defence.

Oliveira was very emotional after the loss, saying that he had succumbed to the pressure before he even entered the ring. He thanked fans for the support and congratulated the new champion. "I don't know what I'm going to do now, I don't even want to think about it, I just want to go home and relax," said Oliveira at the post-fight press conference.

"I'm just going to continue training, I want to fight again for ADFC I love this company, and maybe one day I can fight again for the championship belt," he added.

It was a night of upsets and surprises with all but three fights ending in the first round. In the co-main event of the evening, American Bob ‘The Beast' Sapp faced off against Stav ‘Carzy Bear' Economou from Cyprus. This fight was originally scheduled to take place as the main event of BAMMA 5 in the UK last December, but was canceled due to bad weather. Both the fighters and fans had waited a long time to see this fight and it was a shocker. Economou wasted no time to go for a takedown on Sapp who outweighs him by more than 30kg. Sapp, not expecting to be taken down, went down like a sack of potatoes.

Economou went straight into side control and threw a barrage of blows from punches to hammer fists to elbows, at one point he looked up to the referee to see how much longer he was going to keep letting him punish the beast. Economou defeated Sapp by TKO strikes in 1:45 in the first round of a completely one sided fight.

Off-plan takedown

"Takedowns were never part of our plan, I've never tried a takedown in any of my fights, I didn't even know that I could do a double leg takedown," said Economou.

The boys from Dubai faced off in the cage, as Muay Thai champion Malik Omarov went up against the UAE's youngest professional MMA fighter Ali Mohammad Ahli. Ahli made his MMA debut at ADFC Round 2 in October where he won a controversial split decision. He looked very green in that fight and it seemed that he had maybe stepped on to the professional stage too soon. This fight was a chance for Ahli to show how much he has improved since then against a very experienced and powerful opponent.

Other fights

Lee Weiczorek TKOed David Maile in 26 seconds of the first round.

Seydina Seck upset Simeon Thorensen, KOing him in 2:02 of the first round.

Shamhal Kerimov defeated Abbas Zahiri by arm bar submission in 55seconds of the first round.

Beslan Isaev Choked out Valentino Pretrescu in the second round.

Shane Omer defeated Nayeb Hezam in the second round after Hezam injured his knee and couldn't continue.