Aljamain Sterling is shifting his focus from his professional mixed martial arts career of more than 13 years to compete in a grappling contest at the Abu Dhabi Extreme Championship (ADXC) – a new event that brings renowned martial arts fighters to the cage to compete in a variety of combat sports.
The former UFC bantamweight champion meets fellow American Chase Hooper in a No Gi match in the main card of the ADXC-2 at the Mubadala Arena at Zayed Sports City on Friday.
Sterling lost his UFC title to Sean O’Malley at UFC 292 in Boston in August, thus ending his nine-fight win streak in the promotion that also included three successful title defences.
One of those title defences included a TKO victory over TJ Dillashaw at UFC 280 in Abu Dhabi in October 2022.
While Sterling, 34, is still aiming for another shot at the title, he found the challenge of a new grappling contest against a taller and heavier opponent, who is also 10 years his junior, too alluring to turn down.
“Hopefully my opponent [Hooper] is a willing dance partner and we put on a show for the fans in the main event,” Sterling told The National.
“I’m looking forward to competing against another tough dude, another tough fighter, and we’re going to see how good his grappling is.
“Of course, I’m going up a weight class [from bantamweight to lightweight]. He just went up a weight class [in MMA]. And so, that’s my opportunity to see where I’m at with the bigger opponent and see how I can handle that weight class change.”
Sterling is 1.70 metres tall and weighs 61kgs while Hooper stands at 1.85 and tips the scales at 70kgs.
Grappling is part of Sterling’s regular MMA training and is expected to test Hooper, who will bring his jiu-jitsu expertise to the mat.
“Grappling and jiu-jitsu are part of my training. I had a little bit more emphasis on grappling to prepare for this contest,” Sterling said of his preparations.
“My main job is obviously still fighting. I don’t just stop fighting so I can focus on this. I trust my grappling skills and what it’s able to do for me in the MMA space.
“So just tighten some things up and have some fun. I think the cage atmosphere, that little detail is gonna make things more unique to what I’m really good at. I use the cage really well. That’s gonna be one of my advantages in this competition.”
Sterling has an impressive 23-4 record in MMA career record (15-4 in UFC). However, Hooper is no pushover, holding an impressive record of 13-3, including (5-3 in UFC).
Sterling believes his skills can negate his opponent's height and weight advantage.
“He is definitely the bigger guy from a weight standpoint but I want to test myself for the next fight,” he said.
“Height and weight advantage does matter but it is the skills that are the most important thing for me. I can use the cage advantage a little better and this is based on real competition.
“I’m going to give 110 per cent for a win. There is no punching and kicking, but other than that the intensity going to be high and I’m going back to my roots in grappling and jiu-jitsu in this contest.”
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
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