There is a sense of pride in every bout at the International Mixed Martial Arts Federation’s (IMMAF) World Championships for amateur fighters.
The competition that began on Monday at the Zayed Sports City’s Jiu-Jitsu Arena in Abu Dhabi has been a hive of activity.
The fighters, 421 of them from 56 nations, compete under their nation’s flag in the format and the crowds arrive to cheer the national team rather than individuals.
On a busy first day, 73 fights were staged across four cages resulting in two knockouts, 12 TKO’s, 16 submissions, a disqualification, 37 unanimous decisions and five split decisions.
The six-day event consists of 24 divisions in both in the junior (U21) and senior (Over 21) men and 12 for women and concludes with the junior finals on Friday followed by the seniors on Saturday.
In this format, the fighters wear protective gear such as shin guards. There are also restrictions on the techniques, with no shots at the head, no elbow and forearm strikes or knee hooks .
The seventh edition of the championships was to take place in Kazakhstan last November but moved to Abu Dhabi at short notice due to the rising Covid-19 cases in the Central Asian nation.
Kerrith Brown, the IMMAF president, praised the General Authority for Sports in the UAE, UAE Jiu-Jitsu and MMA Federation, Abu Dhabi Sports Council and Palms Sports for taking over the competition reins in Abu Dhabi at short notice.
“To facilitate the World Championships within 12 weeks against the backdrop of the Covid protocols is absolutely fantastic,” the Briton said. “This world championships has broken all records in terms of the participation and the number of countries.”
The championships is widely regarded as a stepping stone for those who want to pursue a career as MMA professionals.
“MMA is a new sport, and our job and our role is to educate for the development of the amateur,” Brown, who represented the country in judo at the 1984 Olympics, said. “The sport was born upside down, technically, where we had the professionals who first started the sport.
“As the international federation, it’s our job and our duty to build the fabric, the foundation to build this sport so the amateur athletes reach the highest level.
“When they are ready to make that transition from amateur to professional, then we have given them the best start. Through education comes development and diversity, that’s everything that’s involved in this sport.”
Meanwhile, the UAEJJF and MMA Federation signed an agreement to host the IMMAF Youth (U18) World Championship for the next three years.
“Abu Dhabi is named as the new fight capital of the world and the Youth World Championship is a new addition to this list,” Mohammed Al Hosani, general secretary of the UAE MMA Committee, said.
“The unique thing about the amateur World Championships is the fighters represent their country. In this Championship, every country can enter two competitors in each weight division.
“The ongoing Championships is a real treat for the fans with eight fighters in action across four cages simultaneously.”
The UAE had four competitors in action in Abu Dhabi. “They were all eliminated in the first round but they can certainly take that experience forward,” Al Hosani added.
“With the youth worlds planned for the end of this year, we are ow looking forward to have a stronger presence as the host nation. This championship is another exciting addition to the combat sports in the UAE.”
EA Sports FC 26
Publisher: EA Sports
Consoles: PC, PlayStation 4/5, Xbox Series X/S
Rating: 3/5
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Rating: 4/5
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Rating: 2.5/5
Ms Yang's top tips for parents new to the UAE
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What is Reform?
Reform is a right-wing, populist party led by Nigel Farage, a former MEP who won a seat in the House of Commons last year at his eighth attempt and a prominent figure in the campaign for the UK to leave the European Union.
It was founded in 2018 and originally called the Brexit Party.
Many of its members previously belonged to UKIP or the mainstream Conservatives.
After Brexit took place, the party focused on the reformation of British democracy.
Former Tory deputy chairman Lee Anderson became its first MP after defecting in March 2024.
The party gained support from Elon Musk, and had hoped the tech billionaire would make a £100m donation. However, Mr Musk changed his mind and called for Mr Farage to step down as leader in a row involving the US tycoon's support for far-right figurehead Tommy Robinson who is in prison for contempt of court.
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.”
