Fighters in ring

One of the biggest sporting events to be witnessed by the Kingdom will get underway with the first competitive fights of this year’s edition today at Khalifa Sports City Stadium in Isa Town.

Fighters from 55 countries will enter the ring at the 2018 IMMAF World Championship being held as part of the Brave International Combat Week, which was inaugurated yesterday. Bahrain is the only country to host the championship apart from the US. The fourth edition of the world championship which was held in Bahrain last year had 51 countries participating.

The inaugural ceremony was attended by His Majesty’s Representative for Charity Works and Youth Affairs, Supreme Council for Youth and Sports (SCYS) Chairman and Bahrain Olympic Committee (BOC) President His Highness Shaikh Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa, First Deputy Chairman of the Supreme Council of Youth and Sports and President of Bahrain Athletics Association His Highness Shaikh Khalid bin Hamad Al Khalifa along with other dignitaries from across the world.

Speaking to Tribune on the sidelines of the event, Kerrith Brown, President of the International Mixed Martial Arts Federation said, “It’s fantastic to be back in Bahrain. It’s going to be an amazing event over the next few days. We look forward to the event, where the athletes will be competing at the highest level.”

“Bahrain obviously has a good chance of achieving top spots in the competition, they have strong athletes,” he said, lauding HH Shaikh Khalid’s passion for the sport. “HH Shaikh Khalid’s vision is integral to the development of mixed martial arts. What he has achieved and delivered to the sport of MMA is amazing.” Eldar Eldarov, Bahrain’s MMA team coach said, “We have a lot of upcoming stars who could help Bahrain achieve better results this year. It is difficult to predict the results, but I think it will be better than last year.”