Putting Mohammad Yayha's face on the poster to promote PFL: Pride of Arabia was a no-brainer. Yahya is the most recognised and established homegrown fighting talent the country has produced.
The first Emirati to be crowned a world champion in the most brutal of all sports was also the first to sign with the UFC and the first to headline a PFL event, a true pioneer for MMA in the UAE.
Perhaps more surprising is whom the PFL chose to place opposite him on their promotional material.
Zamzam Al Hammadi still pinches herself when she sees her face alongside one of her heroes. “For me, I really was looking up to him when I was young,” Zamzam tells The National.
“Maybe he doesn't know about that, but I even have some pictures of him at home. I even remember when he got the title [in UAE Warriors]. I was there, and I was like, ‘I hope I can be in this place someday’. So when I saw the poster of me and him next to each other, I was like, ‘Whoa, I'm still young, and I'm achieving all this.' I was really happy.”
To insiders, Zamzam’s ascent comes as little surprise. She has won many titles and competitions in jiu-jitsu, including gold medals in the JJIF World Youth Championship. She became the first Emirati woman to win gold at the International Mixed Martial Arts Federation (IMMAF) Youth World Championship in 2023. A year later, she won a second gold.
Her journey into combat sports came earlier than most. As a young child, she would watch her mother, Nada Al Nuaymi, herself an accomplished mixed martial artist, train from the sidelines. She wanted to follow in her footsteps. Clearly Zamzam has inherited her mother’s fighting spirit.
A little over a year ago, Zamzam's talent was recognised by a global organisation, making her the first Emirati woman to sign with the Professional Fighters League.
If the wait to debut has been frustrating for Zamzam, you would never know it. A bright and articulate young woman with a perma-smile belies a calculated technician with a penchant for submissions. Her excitement to feature on the PFL: Pride of Arabia card, being held at Dubai’s Coca-Cola Arena, is infectious.
“For sure, I feel so happy, and for me, it’s such an achievement to be the first Emirati female fighter in PFL,” she said.
“It's really a big achievement for me, and I'm really excited for it. I really want to get that one [to be the first], especially for my family, my country.
“I expect everyone to come to see me: my fans, my family, my friends – everyone. I’m really getting excited and hope I’m going to get the win for my country and, inshallah, for everyone.”
PFL: Pride of Arabia will feature athletes from 11 countries across the region, highlighting the depth and unity of mixed martial arts in the Middle East and North Africa.
Having a rising local talent on the card has obvious benefits for both the promotion and the fighter. For Zamzam, it’s validation for a life dedicated to mastering her craft and making her family proud.
“I always say, if you have a dream, just go for it. In the beginning, you are going to have a lot of haters; their response will be negative. But from my personal experience, when they see you on a big stage, everyone is going to be like, ‘Oh, this is the fighter. This is the woman who worked hard for it.’ Because in the end, they want to achieve what you have. And for sure, if you want to do it, you will do it no matter what.”
Zamzam is undefeated in her two fights as an amateur. She is scheduled to face Abeer Mansour in a strawweight amateur bout. She will have to wait to make her pro MMA debut.
While the focus is on that fight, Zamzam has the added distraction of balancing academics and training. She recently finished her first year at Zayed University in Abu Dhabi, where she is studying for a degree in international relations, political economy and development.
“I'm still 18, so I’m still at university. I have my finals coming up, but thank God, even though I'm tough and a top athlete, I'm also a top student,” she said.
A love for Brazilian jiu-jitsu, one of the most important disciplines in MMA, binds the Al Hammadi family. In 2022, she decided to add more strings to her bow after being inspired by watching her younger brother Zayed win a medal at the IMMAF Youth World Championships in Abu Dhabi.
“Me and my sister were there watching and were like, ‘We didn't know there were girls competing!’ So, at the 2023 Worlds, I had my first fight. I was afraid, but thank God I got first place and then from that day, I was like, ‘Zamzam, let’s go!’”
Younger sister Ghala, 16, is following in her footsteps. Like Zamzam, she won back-to-back gold medals at the IMMAF Worlds and is one of the many young Emiratis, Zamzam believes, who is capable of caring out a career in pro MMA.
“The nearest one to me is my sister, she looks up to me. She tells me, ‘Zamzam, I really want to be in your place.’ I was like, ‘Well, look forward. Inshallah, your time is gonna come.' It would be great to see her beside me.”
Back to her upcoming bout, Zamzam, an accomplished grappler, knows she can't just rely on her ground game alone.
“I'm so excited and when I'm excited for something, I really put everything into it. Everyone knows that I always look for the submission, and Inshallah, maybe this time TKO, we don't know. Maybe I will show something surprising.”
May 24 will go down as a special day in the history of mixed martial arts in the UAE. An Emirati will headline a PFL card in front of his home fans in Dubai. Perhaps of even more significance is that a young Emirati girl will make her debut for one of MMA’s leading promotions.
