Dubai: Local talent Mohammad Walid would have liked his fight to last longer, but it took him less than a minute to dispose of challenger Vaughn Donayre of the Philippines in their Catchweight bout (76kg) in one of the undercard fights.
Donayre, who weighed in at 75.5kg had to scale a weight higher after Waleed was the only fighter to fail to make weight on Thursday while tipping the scale at 76.5kg. That slight advantage was made to count by the Abu Dhabi-based Syrian fighter as he took his opponent down into an arm bend with just over 30 seconds gone into the first round.
“I have no excuses for this. I wanted to do this right there, but maybe I was too relaxed. It only means that I need to work more. I have five more fights and I believe in myself,” Donayre said.
Though thrilled with the win, Walid wanted to make his One FC debut last a bit longer. “It’s a crazy feeling to just win such a huge fight. This is a big step in my life as a fighter and naturally, I wanted it to last a little longer,” he said.
Walid hails from the newly-formed Walid Brothers Team set up just one month back. He comes from a family of fighters that includes his dad and his two brothers. His earlier fights have all been in Dubai and he has won all four of them. “It’s not about me as a fighter. I realise that with this win I am well on my way to bigger things. I am an Arab living in the UAE and I need to represent my culture. One FC is the best and I look forward to many more of such moments,” he added.
