By Caoilte de Barra
On Friday, July 22, the Bahrain Mixed Martial Arts Federation, in cooperation with KHK MMA, and KHK Sports, hosted the 2022 Khalid Bin Hamad MMA Open Championships. The Championships took place at the Al-Najma Club in Juffair. Categories were in place for youth, junior and senior athletes, and clubs from across Bahrain entered.
The tournament was attended by Dr Abdulrahman Sadiq Askar, President of the Bahrain Mixed Martial Arts Federation, Mohamed Ali Qambar, President of BRAVE CF Mohammed Shahid, several invitees and fans of mixed martial arts.
Seventeen bouts took place over the day, with a pro bout between Hussein Ayyad and Salama Saber headlining. Ayyad competed at seven IMMAF competitions during his amateur career before leaping pro. His return to competition ended with him defeating his opponent Salama Saber in the opening round to improve his record to 6-3 as a pro.
As for the tournament, winners in each category received a medal and will have put themselves in contention to be selected for the national team that will compete on the international stage.
In the featherweight division, KHK MMA athlete Hamad Zuhair Marhoon overcame two opponents on the same day to take gold. He kickstarted his gold medal-winning run by defeating Mohamed Belal Aldankli before defeating Wadeea Mohammed Farhan in the final.
Bahrain Fighters gym enjoyed a successful tournament, finishing the competition with three gold medals overall, two at heavyweight and one at light heavyweight. DISMAC found some success in the youth categories, with Aseel Khalid Almutawa taking home gold and Abdulla Othman Ismaeel earning a silver medal in their respective categories.
A full list of medalists from the competition can be found here.
