- Fans treated to a stellar night of thrilling bouts as world's greatest fighters descended on IPIC stadium
- UAE fighter Ahmad Al Darmaki makes debut at tournament's third showdown
Abu Dhabi - UAE, 5 October, 2015: Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) fans were treated to a stellar night of high-octane combat sports action last night (October 3) as 20 fighters from across the globe went head to head at the third Abu Dhabi Warriors tournament.
The championship, which took place at the IPIC Arena in Abu Dhabi, saw some of the world's best MMA fighters compete in a series of 10 thrilling bouts in eight different weight classes, including lightweight (under 70 kg), middleweight (under 84kg) and heavyweight (under 120kg).
Lubomir Guedjev, Managing Director, Abu Dhabi Warriors, was delighted with the overwhelming response to the third edition of the championship.
He said, “MMA is a truly intoxicating sport and what makes it so exciting are the numerous ways there are to win a match. Hardcore MMA fans want to see all of the action when they come to a live show like this; they crave submissions just as much as knockouts and they were certainly not left disappointed tonight.
“I am truly humbled by the turnout and everyone had a great time.”
The heavily stacked fight card featured the debut fight of UAE-born fighter Ahmad Al Darmaki (0-2-0) who fired up the show in a thrilling display against Artiyom Gorodynets (1-2-0) in a featherweight bout.
“We were overjoyed to see a UAE fighter working his magic in the ring for the first time,” said Guedjev.
“Al Darmaki had the crowd's backing from the moment he arrived and he gave them quite a show. We have a feeling that we will be seeing more homegrown talent entering the sport in the very near future.”
The fans in the IPIC Arena got it all on a night when the Warriors returned to Abu Dhabi. Masterfully executed submissions, powerful knockouts and lots of excitement throughout all 10 fights. UAE got the very best of MMA, skills, strength and the most important ingredient, mutual respect between the fighters.
Fighters on the undercard built the momentum for the main card, which was opened with joy and tears. Max Nunes KO'ed Fabricio Monteiro with a vicious knee in under one minute after which Monteiro announced his retirement from the professional MMA world. Waylon Lowe outwrestled Bakocevic, while Karl Amoussou submitted Magomedov. In the co-main event of the evening Sarnavskiy dominated until the very end and took the second ADW victory in a row away from Ronson.
Fans gathered in the arena and those watching worldwide were treated with a spectacular performance from the heavyweights in the main event. Sokoudjou was the one attacking from the start and dominating for the first two rounds. But it was all Paul Buentello in the last round as he unleashed all his power and sucked the life out of his opponent. Buentello won with a vicious KO 3:21 into round 3.
Abu Dhabi Warriors 3 had everything every true MMA fan could wish for. Warriors are coming back in December this year.
One avid MMA fan said he was one of the first people through the gates. “The evening was electric; that's the only way I can describe it. Each and every fight was entertaining in its own way and I was left buzzing at the end of it all.
“I got to see some of my heroes, which is the reason I was so eager to attend in the first place. I can't wait for the next event.”
The results for the evening are as follows:
• Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou Vs. Paul Buentello, Paul Buentello via KO, Round 3, 3.21 minutes
• Alexander Sarnavskiy Vs. Jesse Ronson, Alexander Sarnavskiy via Unanimous Decision
• Karl Amoussou Vs.Abdulmajid Magomedov, Karl Amoussou via Submission (Armbar), Round 1, 3.43 minutes
• Vaso Bakocevic Vs. Waylon Lowe, Waylon Lowe via Unanimous Decision
• Max Nunes Vs. Fabricio Monteiro, Max Nunes via TKO (Knee), Round 1, 0.34 seconds
• Yoshiyuki Katahira Vs. Lewis Long, Lewis Long via Submission (Rear Naked Choke), Round 1, 0.45 seconds
• Seung Chan Hong Vs. Maxim Ceban, Seung Chan Hong via TKO (Ground and Pound) Round 1, 4.30 minutes
• Muha Li Vs. Martin Akhtar, Martin Akhtar via Submission (armbar), Round 1, 4.55 minutes
• Josip Perica Vs. Ion Pascu, Ion Pascu via TKO (Ground and Pound), Round 1, 1.43 minutes
• Ahmad Darmaki Vs. Artiyom Gorodynets, Artiyom Gorodynets via Submission (armbar), Round 2, 1.46 minutes
The event's key sponsors were AD Sports, Etihad Newspaper, The National, UAE JJ and International Vision Investment.
| 
RSS Feed 
