Abu Dhabi: UAE’s rising star Zamzam Al Hammadi is over the moon after defending her gold at the IMMAF Youth World Championships on Saturday.
In the final, Al Hammadi delivered a masterclass in MMA, defeating Xerena Sikes of the USA and securing victory with a unanimous decision in the Youth A 52.2kg division.
“Words can’t explain how happy I am today,” said Al Hammadi after her win. “I have been working towards this moment since the day I won gold last year. Honestly, it was tougher than I thought, especially the final. I was aiming for a submission win.”
On her journey to the final, Al Hammadi was unstoppable. She first overcame Palestine’s Taghrid Akkawi, locking in a vicious armbar to secure a submission victory in just 1 minute and 32 seconds. Her momentum didn’t stop there. She next faced Italy’s Elena Indelicato and once again showcased her dominance, earning another unanimous decision win. In the semi-finals, Al Hammadi overcame Poland’s Sara Dembińska, also winning by unanimous decision, setting the stage for her commanding performance in the final showdown.
With Saturday’s victory, Al Hammadi proved her dominance to claim her second consecutive gold, cementing her status as a force to be reckoned with on the global stage. The Mubadala Arena screamed in celebration as the referee raised her hand, with a capacity crowd — among them her sister, Ghala Al Hammadi, who also defended her gold medal earlier in the week — cheering her on.
On Saturday evening, the championship, held under the patronage of Sheikh Khaled Bin Mohamed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Executive Council, came to a close with Ukraine finishing on top for the fourth consecutive year. Tajikistan and Uzbekistan bagged second and third places, respectively.
Impressive tally
Thani Almehairi (Youth A / 65.8kg) and Saeed Alnuaimi (Men / Youth A / 56.7kg) won bronze medals for the hosts, UAE, taking the team’s overall medal tally to an impressive 12, including 4 gold, one silver and seven bronze. Saif Alblooshi claimed silver in the 40kg category, while Ali Mohamed Alnajar (40kg) and Aisha Alhammadi (62kg) won bronze.
The final day’s competitions were attended by Sheikh Sultan bin Khalifa Al Nahyan, Sheikh Shakhbout Bin Khalifa Al Nahyan, Kerrith Brown, President of the IMMAF, Mohammed bin Dalmouj Al Dhaheri, Board Member of the UAE Jiu-Jitsu and Mixed Martial Arts Federation and Chairman of the Mixed Martial Arts Committee; Wissam Abi Nader, IMMAF Vice-President; Densign White, IMMAF CEO and several representatives of the participating countries’ delegations and embassies in the UAE.
Tolly Plested, coach of the UAE MMA team, said: “We’re proud of our national team. They showed impressive skill and flexibility during some tough matches against the world’s top MMA athletes and rose to the challenge with outstanding performances. We’re happy with the results, especially the four gold medals they won. The athletes put in a lot of effort and gave it their all. We’ll keep working on improving their level through more intensive training to achieve even better results in the future.”
