By Caoilte de Barra
Day 2 of the 2021 IMMAF World Championships has concluded in the Jiu-Jitsu Arena In Zayed Sports City, Abu Dhabi. The rescheduled tournament is hosted by the UAE Jiu-Jitsu and MMA Federation, with backing from the Abu Dhabi Sports Council and in partnership with Palms Sports, and took place in the Jiu-Jitsu Arena in Zayed Sports City, near UFC Fight Island (Yas Island).
The Female flyweights got the day off to a fiery start. Ireland’s Sarah Carney picked up her nation’s first win of the day following a strong showing against RMMAU opposition, Liubov Salnikova. Brazil’s Giulliany Perea put on a grappling clinic in her maiden IMMAF performance against Pakistan’s Eman Khan. Another IMMAF debutant was Poland’s Paulina Wiśniewska, who made her mark on the division by finishing Kazakhstan’s Aigerim Torekhanova in the opening round.
In the Junior Bantamweight division, RMMAU athlete Asef Chopurov pulled off a huge upset by defeating European Open and World Cup gold medalist Otabek Rajabov of Tajikistan.
Over at Welterweight the returning Ramazan Gitinov of Bahrain dominated his opponent with superb grappling and ground and pound. His fellow countryman Murad Guseinov made it two finishes in as many days with yet another submission victory.
Jordan’s Hazem Kayyali returned to action following his dominance at the World Cup event in Prague last year. However, the high-level grappler failed to build on his current run with New Zealand’s Fergus Jenkins taking the judges decision in a big upset. “The Future” left a major impression by out grappling Kayyali in his first IMMAF appearance.
In a clash of top Heavyweights, Bahrain’s Rasul Magomedov remained undefeated. He defeated Kosovo standout Arlind Berisha via Unanimous Decision. Before this, both fighters were undefeated and riding a winning streak into the competition following successful runs in 2021. Magomedov will now look to add a World Championship title to his World Cup and European Open accolades from 2021.
The Super Heavyweight division bracket began in Cage 4 with Lebanon’s Michel Zammar taking on RMMAU athlete Murad Dzhamaldinov. Both fighters were making their respective IMMAF debuts. It was Dzhamaldinov who emerged victorious, defeating the Sanda specialist to remain undefeated.
Day 3 of the 2021 IMMAF World Championship kicks off tomorrow from 11 am GST (UTC+4) live at immaf.tv. For all information regarding the brackets and the schedule visit My Next Match.
