Five fighters chosen for mixed martial arts team

Manama 

Following a press conference at Al Areen Spa in Sakhir on Friday evening under the patronage  First Deputy Chairman of the Supreme Council for Youth and Sports and President of the Bahrain Athletics Association, HH Shaikh Khalid bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the five fighters for the Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) to represent Bahrain during the amateur competition at the Ultimate Fighting Championships (UFC) taking place from July 6 to 11 in Las Vegas, US were announced.

The five selected for the Khalid bin Hamad (khk mma) team are - Abdulla Seena, Hussain Ayyad, Mohammed Al Mulla, Abdulla Al Fayez and Ali Ebrahimi, who fought in three tryouts in March, April and on Thursday.

Shaikh Khalid congratulated the fighters and paid tribute to the organisation of the tryoffs and the development of MMA in Bahrain.

Attending the announcement were International Mixed Martial Arts Federation (IMMAF) Chief Executive, Densign White, British Judo Association (BJA) Chairman Kerrith Brown and a number of officials in the youth and sports sector and members of the media.

Shaikh Khalid thanked the media for its coverage and the organising competition on the successful completion of the three qualifying competitions at the Riffa Sports Club Hall in March and April and on Thursday at Khalifa Sports City Hall in Isa Town.

He also thanked His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa who has laid the foundation and supported Youth and Sports development in the Kingdom.

Also praised was His Majesty the King’s Representative for Charity Works and Youth Affairs, Supreme Council for Youth and Sports Chairman and Bahrain Olympic Committee President HH Shaikh Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa for his wise leadership in the promotion and development in the youth and sport sector.

Shaikh Khalid added that professional trainers from Russia will oversee the team training during the next phase and will reflect clearly on the evolution of the technical level of the fighters who will participate in various events and tournaments for these sports.

“Our ambition is continued support of the Bahraini youth in various sports, especially mixed martial arts, as well as continued efforts in spreading the culture of this sport and development of the team to achieve further achievements in Bahraini sport,” said Shaikh Khalid.

On the sidelines of the press conference, Shaikh Khalid met White and Brown and discussed ways of cooperation and coordination in order to develop and improve the sport of mixed martial arts in the Kingdom of Bahrain.

The visiting international representatives indicated that the playoffs had been a great success in terms of organisation, media coverage and an outstanding technical level by the participating fighters.

General Director of KHK MMA Mohammed Shahid added, “I thank Shaikh Khalid for his support of this sport and we hope to further develop and spread the culture through existing martial arts clubs and into the schools and further enhance Mixed Martial Arts in Bahrain.”