ABU DHABI // Mixed martial arts fans will have to wait five months to find out which fighters will battle for the Dh1 million prize for the Abu Dhabi Fighting Championship. The event organiser confirmed yesterday that the semi-final bouts will be held on October 15 at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre, with the final of the open weight event expected to take place before the end of the year.
Marcos Oliveira, the Brazilian jiu-jitsu instructor based in Abu Dhabi, will face Britain's Neil Wain in the first semi-final before Shamil Abdurahimov, the strapping Russian, lines up against Thierry Sokoudjou, the California-based Cameroonian, in the second bout. "It doesn't matter whom I meet, but I'll be ready for him," said Oliveira, who won his fight in just 17 seconds with a stunning right hook to floor Johan Romming, of France, in the second fight of the event on Friday.
"I knew Johan was going to prolong the fight by running around the Octagon but I got an opportunity to strike him clean with my first punch. Such opportunities don't come all the time but I got it and I finished him off." Wain, who earned a second-round knockout over Przmyslaw Mysiala, is not daunted by the prospect of facing the Brazilian. "In [mixed martial arts] there is no easy way out," he said. "You stand up and fight whomever you have to face. So I don't really care with whom I fight, I fight to win."
The Abdurahimov-Jeff Monson fight was the only one on the night to go the full distance, with Abdurahimov winning a unanimous points decision. Sokoudjou, meanwhile, was awarded a win after Dave Herman, of the US, was disqualified in the second round for twice thrusting his knee into his opponent's face. A disappointing crowd of fewer than 700 attended the event at the 6,000-capacity arena, and Soheil Nemri, the I SEE Event organiser, admitted there are some issues to be ironed out.
One notable mishap on Friday night was a 45-minute delay in the start of the event, for reasons that were unclear. "Sometimes mistakes are bound to happen when you stage a high-profile event for the first time at a place where the event is not well known," said Nemri. "As the fights began the crowd got settled in. Everything turned out to go well and smoothly. We were very pleased with the crowd and for the action inside the Octagon.
"We are here to bring entertainment of a different kind for those who love it and not to promote violence." he added. "There was not much blood spilled as the referees saw [injuries] early. "All in all, everyone involved in staging the event in Abu Dhabi was pleased and I would like to think the crowd some of them who travelled all the way from the other emirates enjoyed every bit of the action."
apassela@thenational.ae
The Penguin
Starring: Colin Farrell, Cristin Milioti, Rhenzy Feliz
Creator: Lauren LeFranc
Rating: 4/5
Fringe@Four Line-up
October 1 - Phil Nichol (stand-up comedy)
October 29 - Mandy Knight (stand-up comedy)
November 5 - Sinatra Raw (Fringe theatre)
November 8 - Imah Dumagay & Sundeep Fernandes (stand-up comedy)
November 13 - Gordon Southern (stand-up comedy)
November 22 - In Loyal Company (Fringe theatre)
November 29 - Peter Searles (comedy / theatre)
December 5 - Sinatra’s Christmas Under The Stars (music / dinner show)
The specs
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Prop idols
Girls full-contact rugby may be in its infancy in the Middle East, but there are already a number of role models for players to look up to.
Sophie Shams (Dubai Exiles mini, England sevens international)
An Emirati student who is blazing a trail in rugby. She first learnt the game at Dubai Exiles and captained her JESS Primary school team. After going to study geophysics at university in the UK, she scored a sensational try in a cup final at Twickenham. She has played for England sevens, and is now contracted to top Premiership club Saracens.
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Seren Gough-Walters (Sharjah Wanderers mini, Wales rugby league international)
Few players anywhere will have taken a more circuitous route to playing rugby on Sky Sports. Gough-Walters was born in Al Wasl Hospital in Dubai, raised in Sharjah, did not take up rugby seriously till she was 15, has a master’s in global governance and ethics, and once worked as an immigration officer at the British Embassy in Abu Dhabi. In the summer of 2021 she played for Wales against England in rugby league, in a match that was broadcast live on TV.
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Erin King (Dubai Hurricanes mini, Ireland sevens international)
Aged five, Australia-born King went to Dubai Hurricanes training at The Sevens with her brothers. She immediately struck up a deep affection for rugby. She returned to the city at the end of last year to play at the Dubai Rugby Sevens in the colours of Ireland in the Women’s World Series tournament on Pitch 1.
How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
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Padmaavat
Director: Sanjay Leela Bhansali
Starring: Ranveer Singh, Deepika Padukone, Shahid Kapoor, Jim Sarbh
3.5/5
The Buckingham Murders
Starring: Kareena Kapoor Khan, Ash Tandon, Prabhleen Sandhu
Director: Hansal Mehta
Rating: 4 / 5
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Gender equality in the workplace still 200 years away
It will take centuries to achieve gender parity in workplaces around the globe, according to a December report from the World Economic Forum.
The WEF study said there had been some improvements in wage equality in 2018 compared to 2017, when the global gender gap widened for the first time in a decade.
But it warned that these were offset by declining representation of women in politics, coupled with greater inequality in their access to health and education.
At current rates, the global gender gap across a range of areas will not close for another 108 years, while it is expected to take 202 years to close the workplace gap, WEF found.
The Geneva-based organisation's annual report tracked disparities between the sexes in 149 countries across four areas: education, health, economic opportunity and political empowerment.
After years of advances in education, health and political representation, women registered setbacks in all three areas this year, WEF said.
Only in the area of economic opportunity did the gender gap narrow somewhat, although there is not much to celebrate, with the global wage gap narrowing to nearly 51 per cent.
And the number of women in leadership roles has risen to 34 per cent globally, WEF said.
At the same time, the report showed there are now proportionately fewer women than men participating in the workforce, suggesting that automation is having a disproportionate impact on jobs traditionally performed by women.
And women are significantly under-represented in growing areas of employment that require science, technology, engineering and mathematics skills, WEF said.
* Agence France Presse
