Martun Mezhulmyan earns shot at UAE Warriors lightweight champion Bruno Machado

Martun Mezhulmyan scored a unanimous decision over Acoidan Duque at UAE Warriors 34 on Thursday to earn a lightweight title match against champion Bruno Machado.

The Armenian dominated the contest with significant strikes, takedowns and high kicks in all three rounds for his fourth successive victory. It stretched Mezhulmyan's UAE Warriors record to 4-1 and his mixed martial arts career to 14-3.

Machado was among the crowd at the Al Jazira Club along with a host of MMA superstars including former UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov and jiu-jitsu legend Renzo Gracie.

The Brazilian, undefeated in four UAE Warriors appearances, watched Mezhulmyan's dominant display before entering the cage for a face-off with his future challenger.

“I have been waiting for this moment for a long time and finally now I have the opportunity to be a champion, and I just can’t wait for that day,” Mezhulmyan said.

“I think I deserved this title fight after four wins in a row in the promotion. I have come a long way to achieve a title. I’m going to go back and return better than ever to take that belt home.”

Martun Mezhulmyan sends Acoidan Duque to the canvas in the UAE Warriors 34 main event at the Al Jazira Club on Thursday, October 2022. Photo: UAE Warriors

Duque went on the offensive from the outset and attempted a foot-lock early in the opening round.

Mezhulmyan slipped out of that hold and upon returning to his feet landed a couple of punches and secured a takedown of the Spaniard, also scoring with a flurry of elbow strikes to take the round.

Duque started the next round with a takedown and establishing top position of his opponent but once again Mezhulmyan showed good defence to escape.

Mezhulmyan dominated the third and final round, starting off with three strikes, a high kick followed by a take down.

Elin Oberg lived up to her promise when she bounced back from her debut defeat in the promotion almost a year ago with a unanimous decision over Brazilian Larissa Carvalho in the women’s 120lb catchweight.

Elin Oberg lands a punch on Larissa Carvalho. Photo: UAE Warriors

Results:

Main Event

Catchweight 165lb - Martun Mezhulmyan (ARM) beat Acoidan Duque (ESP) by unanimous decision.

Co-Main Event

Bantamweight - Azamat Kerefov (RUS) beat Felipe Pereira (BRA) by unanimous decision.

Middleweight - Amir Fazli (IRN) beat Mohamad Osseili (LEB) by first-round KO.

Catchweight 161lbs - Zhu Rong (CHI) beat Felipe Maia (BRA) by second-round TKO.

Catchweight 176lbs - Ion Surdu (MDA) beat Handesson Ferreira (BRA) by first-round KO

Catchweight 168lbs - Artur Zaynukov (RUS) beat Sargis Vardanyan (ARM) by unanimous decision.

Featherweight - Ilkhom Nazimov (UZB) beat Khazar Rustamov (AZE) by first-round submission.

Bantamweight - Jalal Al Daaja (JOR) beat Mark Alcoba (PHI) by first-round TKO.

Lightweight - Dylan Salvador (FRA) beat Jakhongir Jumaev (UZB) by third-round submission.

Catchweight 143lbs - Hikaru Yoshino (JPN) beat Djamal Rustem (TUR) by unanimous decision.

Featherweight - Ulan Tamgabaev (KAZ) beat Javohir Imamov (UZB) by majority decision.

Catchweight 120lbs - Elin Oberg (SWE) beat Larissa Carvalho (BRA) by unanimous decision.

Lightweight - Hussein Salem (IRQ) beat Arlan Faurillo (PHI) by first-round TKO

Dubai works towards better air quality by 2021

Dubai is on a mission to record good air quality for 90 per cent of the year – up from 86 per cent annually today – by 2021.

The municipality plans to have seven mobile air-monitoring stations by 2020 to capture more accurate data in hourly and daily trends of pollution.

These will be on the Palm Jumeirah, Al Qusais, Muhaisnah, Rashidiyah, Al Wasl, Al Quoz and Dubai Investment Park.

“It will allow real-time responding for emergency cases,” said Khaldoon Al Daraji, first environment safety officer at the municipality.

“We’re in a good position except for the cases that are out of our hands, such as sandstorms.

“Sandstorms are our main concern because the UAE is just a receiver.

“The hotspots are Iran, Saudi Arabia and southern Iraq, but we’re working hard with the region to reduce the cycle of sandstorm generation.”

Mr Al Daraji said monitoring as it stood covered 47 per cent of Dubai.

There are 12 fixed stations in the emirate, but Dubai also receives information from monitors belonging to other entities.

“There are 25 stations in total,” Mr Al Daraji said.

“We added new technology and equipment used for the first time for the detection of heavy metals.

“A hundred parameters can be detected but we want to expand it to make sure that the data captured can allow a baseline study in some areas to ensure they are well positioned.”

Recipe: Spirulina Coconut Brothie

Ingredients
1 tbsp Spirulina powder
1 banana
1 cup unsweetened coconut milk (full fat preferable)
1 tbsp fresh turmeric or turmeric powder
½ cup fresh spinach leaves
½ cup vegan broth
2 crushed ice cubes (optional)

Method
Blend all the ingredients together on high in a high-speed blender until smooth and creamy.

Desert Warrior

Starring: Anthony Mackie, Aiysha Hart, Ben Kingsley

Director: Rupert Wyatt

Rating: 3/5

Company info

Company name: Entrupy

Co-founders: Vidyuth Srinivasan, co-founder/chief executive, Ashlesh Sharma, co-founder/chief technology officer, Lakshmi Subramanian, co-founder/chief scientist

Based: New York, New York

Sector/About: Entrupy is a hardware-enabled SaaS company whose mission is to protect businesses, borders and consumers from transactions involving counterfeit goods.

Initial investment/Investors: Entrupy secured a $2.6m Series A funding round in 2017. The round was led by Tokyo-based Digital Garage and Daiwa Securities Group's jointly established venture arm, DG Lab Fund I Investment Limited Partnership, along with Zach Coelius.

Total customers: Entrupy’s customers include hundreds of secondary resellers, marketplaces and other retail organisations around the world. They are also testing with shipping companies as well as customs agencies to stop fake items from reaching the market in the first place.