Ali Al Qaisi becomes part of Jordanian history as the first mixed martial arts fighter from the Middle East nation to feature in UFC on Saturday.
Al Qaisi takes on Mexican Irwin 'The Beast' Rivera in the opening bantamweight clash of the UFC Fight Night, which is headlined by the heavyweight contest between American Derick Lewis and Ukrainian Aleksei Oleinik in Las Vegas.
"I'm honoured to represent Jordan and the Arab community at the UFC," Al Qaisi told The National in a Zoom interview.
“I’m sure the Middle East and Arab community, everyone will be behind me. I’m really happy to be part of the UFC family right now.
“It’s the summit for every MMA fighter. I have worked very hard to reach this point. When I first started, it was my long-term objective to feature in a UFC fight card, and now I have reached there and I am going to cherish every moment of it.”
Nicknamed the 'Royal Fighter', Al Qaisi, who turns 30 next month, enters the octagon with an 8-3 record.
“I want to open the door for more Jordanian fighters to UFC,” Al Qaisi said.
“We have a lot of good fighters back home and I feel my presence in the UFC can be a catalyst for more and more to reach this level.”
When MMA first started in the Middle East, the Jordanian capital Amman was considered the hub of the sport.
That has now shifted to Abu Dhabi after the signing of a five-year deal with UFC last year.
The first UFC event saw Khabib Nurmagomedov defeat Dustin Poirier to retain the lightweight championship in September 2019. The Fight Nights staged at Fight island last month further established Abu Dhabi’s status.
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UFC Fight Island: Usman v Masvidal
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“I have competed in the Desert Force and Phoenix in Abu Dhabi and Dubai, and obviously would like to return for a UFC appearance in Abu Dhabi’s Fight Island,” Al Qaisi added.
“I would like to place my appreciation to Abu Dhabi for taking MMA to a new level in the region, and providing Arab fighters more opportunities to compete in their events.”
On his upcoming fight against Rivera, who arrives with a similar 8-3 record, Al Qaisi is confident in making a successful UFC debut.
“He’s a tough, aggressive and good fighter,” he said. “For me, it doesn’t matter who I fight. I just have one goal and that’s to enter the cage, start the fight and win the fight.”
Al Qaisi believes his daughter Selma, born in March in the US, has given him new energy and motivation.
“She’s my lucky charm from now on,” he said. “Also, I want to thank everyone for sending me messages and wishing me the best for the fight.
“I’m here alone with my wife and little girl in Vegas but the messages I receive make me feel I have an army behind me.
“I wake up every morning and read the beautiful messages. It gives me more strength and motivation, and I want to do my best and bring success to my country and to all those beautiful people.”
Moroccan Yousef Zalal (9-2) is the other Arab fighter to feature in the card, and he comes up against UFC debutant American Peter Barrett (11-3) in a featherweight undercard.
Zalal, 23, makes a quick return to the octagon after stretching his UFC record to two wins with a unanimous points decision over American Jordan Griffin at Vegas-4 in June.
“The gym I work with keeps me ready all year around, and to be honest, I’m ready to take up any fights at short notices,” Zalal, who has been living in the US since he was 12, said.
“I got a call to say they got a guy for me and he was a UFC debutant. I was like ‘okay let me have a look at his record and one of his videos' and went, ‘aha this is going to a be a good fight’.
“I told them to bring him on. It doesn’t both me at all. I think he’s a brawler who comes in and really gases out after the first round. I think he’s not ready for my style. But let’s wait and see.”
All fights will be shown exclusively on UFC Arabia through the UFC Arabia app in the UAE and the Middle East at 6am, both English and Arabic.
UFC Arabia is the exclusive provider of all UFC Pay-Per-View events to fans in the UAE and the Middle East. The main card begins at 5am on Sunday with the preliminaries kicking off at 2am GST.
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm
Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
On sale: Available to order now
The Facility’s Versatility
Between the start of the 2020 IPL on September 20, and the end of the Pakistan Super League this coming Thursday, the Zayed Cricket Stadium has had an unprecedented amount of traffic.
Never before has a ground in this country – or perhaps anywhere in the world – had such a volume of major-match cricket.
And yet scoring has remained high, and Abu Dhabi has seen some classic encounters in every format of the game.
October 18, IPL, Kolkata Knight Riders tied with Sunrisers Hyderabad
The two playoff-chasing sides put on 163 apiece, before Kolkata went on to win the Super Over
January 8, ODI, UAE beat Ireland by six wickets
A century by CP Rizwan underpinned one of UAE’s greatest ever wins, as they chased 270 to win with an over to spare
February 6, T10, Northern Warriors beat Delhi Bulls by eight wickets
The final of the T10 was chiefly memorable for a ferocious over of fast bowling from Fidel Edwards to Nicholas Pooran
March 14, Test, Afghanistan beat Zimbabwe by six wickets
Eleven wickets for Rashid Khan, 1,305 runs scored in five days, and a last session finish
June 17, PSL, Islamabad United beat Peshawar Zalmi by 15 runs
Usman Khawaja scored a hundred as Islamabad posted the highest score ever by a Pakistan team in T20 cricket
Classification of skills
A worker is categorised as skilled by the MOHRE based on nine levels given in the International Standard Classification of Occupations (ISCO) issued by the International Labour Organisation.
A skilled worker would be someone at a professional level (levels 1 – 5) which includes managers, professionals, technicians and associate professionals, clerical support workers, and service and sales workers.
The worker must also have an attested educational certificate higher than secondary or an equivalent certification, and earn a monthly salary of at least Dh4,000.
ASSASSIN'S%20CREED%20MIRAGE
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PREMIER LEAGUE FIXTURES
Tuesday (UAE kick-off times)
Leicester City v Brighton (9pm)
Tottenham Hotspur v West Ham United (11.15pm)
Wednesday
Manchester United v Sheffield United (9pm)
Newcastle United v Aston Villa (9pm)
Norwich City v Everton (9pm)
Wolves v Bournemouth (9pm)
Liverpool v Crystal Palace (11.15pm)
Thursday
Burnley v Watford (9pm)
Southampton v Arsenal (9pm)
Chelsea v Manchester City (11.15pm)
Wicked: For Good
Director: Jon M Chu
Starring: Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo, Jonathan Bailey, Jeff Goldblum, Michelle Yeoh, Ethan Slater
Rating: 4/5
UAE%20medallists%20at%20Asian%20Games%202023
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Day 1 results:
Open Men (bonus points in brackets)
New Zealand 125 (1) beat UAE 111 (3)
India 111 (4) beat Singapore 75 (0)
South Africa 66 (2) beat Sri Lanka 57 (2)
Australia 126 (4) beat Malaysia -16 (0)
Open Women
New Zealand 64 (2) beat South Africa 57 (2)
England 69 (3) beat UAE 63 (1)
Australia 124 (4) beat UAE 23 (0)
New Zealand 74 (2) beat England 55 (2)
UAE%20SQUAD
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Dengue%20fever%20symptoms
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Desert Warrior
Starring: Anthony Mackie, Aiysha Hart, Ben Kingsley
Director: Rupert Wyatt
Rating: 3/5
Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
ICC men's cricketer of the year
2004 - Rahul Dravid (IND) ; 2005 - Jacques Kallis (SA) and Andrew Flintoff (ENG); 2006 - Ricky Ponting (AUS); 2007 - Ricky Ponting; 2008 - Shivnarine Chanderpaul (WI); 2009 - Mitchell Johnson (AUS); 2010 - Sachin Tendulkar (IND); 2011 - Jonathan Trott (ENG); 2012 - Kumar Sangakkara (SL); 2013 - Michael Clarke (AUS); 2014 - Mitchell Johnson; 2015 - Steve Smith (AUS); 2016 - Ravichandran Ashwin (IND); 2017 - Virat Kohli (IND); 2018 - Virat Kohli; 2019 - Ben Stokes (ENG); 2021 - Shaheen Afridi
Auron Mein Kahan Dum Tha
Starring: Ajay Devgn, Tabu, Shantanu Maheshwari, Jimmy Shergill, Saiee Manjrekar
Director: Neeraj Pandey
Rating: 2.5/5
Jurassic%20Park
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Key recommendations
- Fewer criminals put behind bars and more to serve sentences in the community, with short sentences scrapped and many inmates released earlier.
- Greater use of curfews and exclusion zones to deliver tougher supervision than ever on criminals.
- Explore wider powers for judges to punish offenders by blocking them from attending football matches, banning them from driving or travelling abroad through an expansion of ‘ancillary orders’.
- More Intensive Supervision Courts to tackle the root causes of crime such as alcohol and drug abuse – forcing repeat offenders to take part in tough treatment programmes or face prison.
MATCH INFO
Liverpool 0
Stoke City 0
Man of the Match: Erik Pieters (Stoke)
Profile
Co-founders of the company: Vilhelm Hedberg and Ravi Bhusari
Launch year: In 2016 ekar launched and signed an agreement with Etihad Airways in Abu Dhabi. In January 2017 ekar launched in Dubai in a partnership with the RTA.
Number of employees: Over 50
Financing stage: Series B currently being finalised
Investors: Series A - Audacia Capital
Sector of operation: Transport
The Pope's itinerary
Sunday, February 3, 2019 - Rome to Abu Dhabi
1pm: departure by plane from Rome / Fiumicino to Abu Dhabi
10pm: arrival at Abu Dhabi Presidential Airport
Monday, February 4
12pm: welcome ceremony at the main entrance of the Presidential Palace
12.20pm: visit Abu Dhabi Crown Prince at Presidential Palace
5pm: private meeting with Muslim Council of Elders at Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque
6.10pm: Inter-religious in the Founder's Memorial
Tuesday, February 5 - Abu Dhabi to Rome
9.15am: private visit to undisclosed cathedral
10.30am: public mass at Zayed Sports City – with a homily by Pope Francis
12.40pm: farewell at Abu Dhabi Presidential Airport
1pm: departure by plane to Rome
5pm: arrival at the Rome / Ciampino International Airport
THREE
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Tamkeen's offering
- Option 1: 70% in year 1, 50% in year 2, 30% in year 3
- Option 2: 50% across three years
- Option 3: 30% across five years
