Jesse Arnett was crowned the new UAE Warriors featherweight champion on Saturday after a second round stoppage by the cage-side doctor following a cut above Ali Al Qaisi’s left eye.
Chaos ensued as a visibly upset Al Qaisi screamed at the referee and went after Arnett, who had to jump out of the cage before calmness was restored at the Etihad Arena.
“I love Abu Dhabi and I love to compete, and I respect Ali and everyone in this region,” Arnett said. “Ali deserves an immediate re-match. This fight was razor-close and I landed an elbow from the top and split him wide open. I’m not the referee but I’m here to compete and I was there for all five rounds.
“Everybody that knows me back home knows I haven’t had a lot of wrestling practice and I haven’t had a lot of jiu-jitsu practice since I left Sanford MMA. I will wrestle that boy next time and do the exact same thing. I found the game-plan to beat Ali.”
After an evenly-matched opening round, Al Qaisi attempted a high kick and fell on his back, allowing Arnett to get on top of his opponent to open what appeared to be a deep cut.
Al Qaisi looked agitated with the decision to stop the contest. He argued with the referee first and then pursued Arnett when he appeared to intervene on the verdict.
The result took Arnett’s win-loss record to 20-8 and his UAE Warriors record to 3-1.
Taleb extends unbeaten run
Ali Taleb took his unbeaten record to seven with a stunning right hook to floor defending champion Vinicius de Oliveira in the UAE Warriors bantamweight title contest.
De Oliveira produced an impressive second round after a close opening five minutes, but walked into Taleb’s crunching right that landed on his right jaw in the third round.
“I was confident coming into this title contest,” Taleb said after ending the Brazilian’s unbeaten run of six career fights.
“It’s nice to have a title next to my name. It certainly improves my status as an MMA fighter in the world circuit particularly when other promotions have approached me. Hopefully exciting times are ahead.”
Results
Featherweight title fight: Jesse Arnett (CAN) beat Ali Al Qaisi (JOR) via TKO (Doctor Stoppage), Round 2
Bantamweight title fight: Ali Taleb (IRQ) beat Vinicius de Oliveira (BRA) via KO, Round 3
Flyweight: Dias Erengaipov (KAZ) beat Abdulla Aliev (RUS) via Split Decision
Lightweight: Michael Dufort (CAN) beat Wilson Varela (FRA) via Unanimous Decision
Bantamweight: Jonny Touma (SWE) beat Rey Nacionales (PHI) via Submission (Rear Naked Choke) in Round 1
Middleweight: Juscelino Ferreira (BRA) beat KB Bhullar (CAN) via Unanimous Decision
Bantamweight: Murad Magomedov (RUS) beat Alimardan Abdykaarov (KYG) via Submission (Rear Naked Choke) in Round 2
Catchweight 178lbs: Brian Hooi (NED) beat Wisem Hammami (ITA) via KO in Round 2
Featherweight: Samuel Bark (SWE) beat Alexandru Chitoran (ROU) via Split Decision
Catchweight 143lbs: Gabriel Braga (BRA) Faeez Jacobs (RSA) via Unanimous Decision
Catchweight 143lbs: Jacqueline Cavalcanti (POR) beat Yulia Kutsenko (RUS) via TKO (Strikes) in Round 1
Heavyweight: Sofiane Boukichou (TUN) Luc Ngeleka (COG) via Submission (Rear Naked Choke) in Round 1
Bantamweight: Ruel Panales (PHI) beat Magomed Gadzhimuradov (RUS) via TKO (Doctor Stoppage) in Round 2
Women & Power: A Manifesto
Mary Beard
Profile Books and London Review of Books
How to get there
Emirates (www.emirates.com) flies directly to Hanoi, Vietnam, with fares starting from around Dh2,725 return, while Etihad (www.etihad.com) fares cost about Dh2,213 return with a stop. Chuong is 25 kilometres south of Hanoi.
11 cabbie-recommended restaurants and dishes to try in Abu Dhabi
Iqbal Restaurant behind Wendy’s on Hamdan Street for the chicken karahi (Dh14)
Pathemari in Navy Gate for prawn biryani (from Dh12 to Dh35)
Abu Al Nasar near Abu Dhabi Mall, for biryani (from Dh12 to Dh20)
Bonna Annee at Navy Gate for Ethiopian food (the Bonna Annee special costs Dh42 and comes with a mix of six house stews – key wet, minchet abesh, kekel, meser be sega, tibs fir fir and shiro).
Al Habasha in Tanker Mai for Ethiopian food (tibs, a hearty stew with meat, is a popular dish; here it costs Dh36.75 for lamb and beef versions)
Himalayan Restaurant in Mussaffa for Nepalese (the momos and chowmein noodles are best-selling items, and go for between Dh14 and Dh20)
Makalu in Mussaffa for Nepalese (get the chicken curry or chicken fry for Dh11)
Al Shaheen Cafeteria near Guardian Towers for a quick morning bite, especially the egg sandwich in paratha (Dh3.50)
Pinky Food Restaurant in Tanker Mai for tilapia
Tasty Zone for Nepalese-style noodles (Dh15)
Ibrahimi for Pakistani food (a quarter chicken tikka with roti costs Dh16)
The specs
Engine: 8.0-litre, quad-turbo 16-cylinder
Transmission: 7-speed auto
0-100kmh 2.3 seconds
0-200kmh 5.5 seconds
0-300kmh 11.6 seconds
Power: 1500hp
Torque: 1600Nm
Price: Dh13,400,000
On sale: now
What the law says
Micro-retirement is not a recognised concept or employment status under Federal Decree Law No. 33 of 2021 on the Regulation of Labour Relations (as amended) (UAE Labour Law). As such, it reflects a voluntary work-life balance practice, rather than a recognised legal employment category, according to Dilini Loku, senior associate for law firm Gateley Middle East.
“Some companies may offer formal sabbatical policies or career break programmes; however, beyond such arrangements, there is no automatic right or statutory entitlement to extended breaks,” she explains.
“Any leave taken beyond statutory entitlements, such as annual leave, is typically regarded as unpaid leave in accordance with Article 33 of the UAE Labour Law. While employees may legally take unpaid leave, such requests are subject to the employer’s discretion and require approval.”
If an employee resigns to pursue micro-retirement, the employment contract is terminated, and the employer is under no legal obligation to rehire the employee in the future unless specific contractual agreements are in place (such as return-to-work arrangements), which are generally uncommon, Ms Loku adds.
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
Other workplace saving schemes
- The UAE government announced a retirement savings plan for private and free zone sector employees in 2023.
- Dubai’s savings retirement scheme for foreign employees working in the emirate’s government and public sector came into effect in 2022.
- National Bonds unveiled a Golden Pension Scheme in 2022 to help private-sector foreign employees with their financial planning.
- In April 2021, Hayah Insurance unveiled a workplace savings plan to help UAE employees save for their retirement.
- Lunate, an Abu Dhabi-based investment manager, has launched a fund that will allow UAE private companies to offer employees investment returns on end-of-service benefits.
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MATCH INFO
Tottenham Hotspur 1
Kane (50')
Newcastle United 0
The Specs
Engine 3.8-litre, twin-turbo V8
Transmission: eight-speed automatic
Power: 582bhp (542bhp in GTS model)
Torque: 730Nm
Price: Dh649,000 (Dh549,000 for GTS)
Ferrari 12Cilindri specs
Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12
Power: 819hp
Torque: 678Nm at 7,250rpm
Price: From Dh1,700,000
Available: Now
Emergency
Director: Kangana Ranaut
Stars: Kangana Ranaut, Anupam Kher, Shreyas Talpade, Milind Soman, Mahima Chaudhry
Rating: 2/5
Places to go for free coffee
- Cherish Cafe Dubai, Dubai Investment Park, are giving away free coffees all day.
- La Terrace, Four Points by Sheraton Bur Dubai, are serving their first 50 guests one coffee and four bite-sized cakes
- Wild & The Moon will be giving away a free espresso with every purchase on International Coffee Day
- Orange Wheels welcome parents are to sit, relax and enjoy goodies at ‘Café O’ along with a free coffee
