Hard as iron and well on top

HARD Hussain ‘Iron’ Ayyad brought more glory to the kingdom during the highly-competitive Brave 18 Mixed Martial Arts event which featured top fighters from around the globe.

The competition was hosted by the Brave Combat Federation, in conjunction with WFCA 54, at Khalifa Sports City in Isa Town last Friday night during the Brave International Combat Week.

Bahraini Ayyad, a 2017 IMMAF medalist, defeated Egypt’s Hassan Abo Ali with a technical knockout finish, his second victory under the Brave Combat Federation flag.

“My opponent was tough,” said Ayyad, 25, a professional flyweight fighter. “He connected with a few strikes and was tough in grappling but the training I received at KHK MMA and at Reza’s Martial Arts Centre made all the difference.

“I listened to my coaches and followed the game plan. My amateur experience fighting at KHK MMA representing Bahrain through multiple IMMAF events has also benefitted me.

“I’m proud to win the fight and will train even harder to represent the kingdom on a global level.

“Bahrain is now among the top destinations for the sport and one of the best places to train in the world because we have some of the best coaches.”

Among the audience were some of the most famous and controversial names in the world mixed martial arts, no more so than UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov who was involved in the infamous battle with Conor McGregor and stepped out on stage to present title belts.

Also in the crowd were Sean O’Malley, Jose ‘Shorty’ Torres, Jack Black and Lenne Hardt.

The opening bout in the card featured the promotional debut of Sweden’s Khamzat Chimaev and Austria’s Marko Kisic.

Khamzat, who fought in the welterweight division, won with a first round TKO victory. The next fight featured the UK’s Hardeep Rai up against Irish slugger Cian Cowley. Cowley picked up the win for SBG Ireland.

Luan Santiago and Djamil Chan went all three rounds with Chan being defeated by unanimous decision. And, Velimurad Alkhasov also defeated Marcel Adur by unanimous decision.

In the co-main event of the night, Stephen Loman from the Philippines defended his world championship against Felipe Efrain from Brazil. After five rounds, Loman dominated Efrain to win the championship by unanimous decision.

He was handed the world championship title by Nurmagomedov. Both HH Shaikh Khalid bin Hamad Al Khalifa and Filipino ambassador Alfonso A Ver congratulated Loman on his success.

In the main event of the evening, Abdul Kareem Al-Selwady became the first fighter from Palestine to contest for a world championship title. He faced champion Lucas Mineiro from Brazil and the fight was settled in the first round when Al-Selwady slammed Mineiro, injuring him and forcing the referee to stop the bout.

The win was awarded to Al Selwady and he was crowned as the new lightweight champion at Brave Combat Federation by Nurmagomedov.