By Caoilte de Barra
The latest action from BRAVE CF 48: Arabian Night highlighted the elite level of talent now coming out of Bahrain, currently ranked top of the IMMAF World Team Rankings. That is no surprise when we see how their former amateur representatives are doing in the pro ranks.
The event, which took place Thursday March 18, saw three former Bahrain fighters compete as professionals. Murtaza Talha Ali, Abbas Khan and Abdulla Alyqoob were all successful in their pursuit of victory. Their teammate Magomed Idrisov couldn’t notch up a win as his bout was cancelled.
Two-time IMMAF World Champion Murtaza Talha Ali rounded off proceedings for the Bahrain fighters as he extended his impressive run in the pro ranks. Ali was undefeated in the amateur ranks and is still riding that momentum into the pro ranks, his record currently sits at 3-0 respectively.
The highly-touted prospect outwrestled his opponent before raining down some vicious ground and pound blows forcing the referee to call a halt to the bout. He has now faced 3 much more experienced fighters in his pro career, all with a minimum of five pro fights and winning records at the time of fighting.
Abdulla Alyqoob was the first of the trio in action. The Bahrain fighter took the fight on short notice replacing teammate Ali Yaqoob to make his pro debut. Alyqoob had seven bouts across three IMMAF competitions during his amateur career. He competed at both flyweight and bantamweight as an amateur and took a risk with this fight by stepping up to fight at a 150lb catchweight against Ramyar Luqman.
The step-up to both pro and another weight class was no issue for him as he took home a clear cut decision victory. Long time IMMAF amateur competitor Abbas Khan was up next and looked to bounce back from a pro debut loss to fellow IMMAF alumni Yann Liasse.
The Bahrain based fighter had what seemed to be a tough task in facing the more experienced Omar El Dafrawy but the experience built up as an amateur made that gap in pro experience seem redundant. Khan put on a strong showing in the 165lb bout and took home the first pro win of his career.
The collective, who all train together at KHK MMA, are continuing to show the level of fighters that are coming out of Bahrain.
