UAE Warriors to return to action in Abu Dhabi on Friday at Zayed Sports City

Seventh edition of MMA fighting championship to feature 24 fighters from 15 countries including in Middle East

UAE Warriors, to be held inside the Mubadala Arena, will include 12 bouts between 24 fighters from 15 countries. Khushnum Bhandari for The National

UAE Warriors is all set to take kick off at Zayed Sports City in Abu Dhabi on Friday.

The seventh edition of the MMA fighting championship, to be held inside the Mubadala Arena, will include 12 bouts between 24 fighters from 15 countries including Egypt, Iraq, Lebanon and Morocco, as well as the United States and the United Kingdom and India.

Spectators will be treated to three primary events, including two title fights. The main card is expected to offer nine match-ups.

The big fight is a heavyweight title bout between ‘Chopper Chi’ Lewis-Parry and Ben ‘Fresh’ Adwubi, with the former looking to maintain his unbeaten record against a multi-faced personality who has made a name for himself as an internet celebrity, comedian, model, and pro football player.

"UAE Warriors managed to grab the attention of MMA fighters and fans across the world and proved its status as a prestigious platform in which international mixed martial artists are keen to partake in its exhilarating action to showcase their skills, talents and techniques to a global audience,” championship director Fouad Darwish said on Wednesday.

"Even before the conclusion of our last event back in May, our matchmakers started receiving requests from tens of fighters to feature in the upcoming event, or any subsequent edition for that matter.

"Today, we have a deep pool of talented fighters to choose from - ensuring an increasingly higher level of technical performance is presented to our ever growing fan base.”