Bahrain’s Fahad Abdulrazaq of the Khalid Hamad Khalifa Mixed Martial Arts (KHK MMA) team ensured the Kingdom a medal, after defeating Bulgaria’s Nikolay Ivaylov in the quarter finals of the 57kg category in the third edition of the MMA Amateur World Championships.
The event which began last Tuesday and organised by the International Mixed Martial Arts Federation (IMMAF) in cooperation with the Ultimate Fighting Championship in Las Vegas began last Tuesday concludes tomorrow.
Abdulrazaq qualified for the semi-finals in his first participation at the Championships after winning the first round of his bout and ending in the second round at “2:04” through surrender after grabbing the shoulder of his opponent in an attempt to dislocate it, forcing him to surrender.
The fighters of KHK MMA supported team member, Abdulrazaq ringside throughout the bout as he made Bahraini MMA history. HH Shaikh Khalid bin Hamad Al Khalifa, First Deputy Chairman of the Supreme Council for Youth and Sports and the founder of KHK MMA congratulated Abdulrazaq on securing a medal and praised his performance which showed his strong preparations .
Shaikh Khalid added that Abdulrazaq has high potential and capabilities despite his young age. This has enabled him to fight some of the best amateur’s fighters in the world and enter the professional ranks in a short time and wishing him success in the semi-final bout.
IMMAF Vice-president George Salfeldt stressed that Bahrain has become the focus of attention in the world of mixed martial arts sport after participating in multiple tournaments abroad and the fighters’ skills showed improvement after the last participation. He praised the presence of Bahrain alongside Lebanon as representatives of the Arab countries and wishing them further success in upcoming tournaments.
Meanwhile, Shaikh Khalid pointing out the participation of Frankie Edgar who will face fighter Jose Aldo in the main battle for the featherweight title of the Ultimate Fighting Championship UFC200, by saying: “This participation will add a lot of prestige to Bahrain through its presence in the biggest event of Mixed Martial Arts. Winning will be another achievement and a new step to towards advancing in mixed martial arts. “
Shaikh Khalid expressed confidence in Edgar to win the featherweight title, pointing out that the fighter has special capabilities that will enable him to be the number one fighter of the category while maintaining his abilities and skills.
Edgar coached by Mark Henry stressed that he is fully ready and prepared to bring back the belt. “The belt and title means everything to me, I wanted to be the number one in the world when I entered the world of mixed martial arts and have constantly trained and will not waste this opportunity.”
He also stated his joy at being a member of the KHK MMA team and highlighted its importance in bringing out some of the finest professional fighters in the arena, to highlight the Bahraini fighters and present them to the world.
