Interviewing the President. KHK MMA’s new baby will boldly go where no promotion has gone before.
KHK MMA was born as a fighter-centred promotion, built upon the vision of two passionate pioneers, HH Shaikh Khalid Bin Hamad Al Khalifa alongside aspiring fighter and the team’s founder and current CEO Mohammad Shahid. As involved as he can get, HH Shaikh Khalid has even stepped into the cage himself and won via knockout, only to affirm that he has his fighters’ interests at heart.
The birth of KHK MMA has already transformed Bahrain, a small country with a big nucleus of hard-working, determined people, and the company’s focus on development of amateur fighters has opened up new opportunities to aspiring athletes who were perhaps lost or devoid of options before.
Launching the Next Generation
CEO Mohammed Shahid is currently leading a scouting programme, which will change the lives of many of those young athletes who have the talent and work ethic to succeed.
“It has been an amazing time for me to stay away from promoting fights in order to just sit down and look at some really good upcoming talents across the gyms,” he said. “The athletes are excited, and they all want to participate. This programme has opened my eyes to how many talented athletes are out there in Bahrain, and we want to make sure we will miss none of them.”
This is the strong ethos underpinning KHK MMA: they have an opportunity to enrich lives, harness talent and instil core values. That is exactly what they are doing. KHK has grown since its formation into a large-scale force for good, putting on shows, investing capital in some of the world’s best coaches, and welcoming world class fighters from around the globe to their gym where they train, inspire, and build relationships with the Bahraini amateur and professional fighters. KHK MMA has become a brand which is focused on one thing: developing successful people.
“KHK MMA gym is a place with one goal that is – becoming a champion. Everyone in the gym has a mission to be the best fighter in the world. With all the competitions happening, and all the upcoming fights and Brave’s first event just around the corner, the atmosphere is sweat, blood and tears, and most of all a lot of heart and energy. It’s a great set of people we have in the team that work like a family and look after each other, assisting in solving each other’s problems in and out of the gym.”
The Need for More: Brave CF
The results of KHK MMA’s vision can be seen among the youth of Bahrain. Their acceptance and love for MMA has shown through the growing number of new gyms and new faces walking through the doors, participating every day. MMA began to explode, and with demand, there must be supply – cue the birth of KHK MMA’s new baby, the Brave Combat Federation (BCF). A brand new fight promotion based in Bahrain, which will put on spectacular shows featuring elite fighters from around the globe, all made possible by the vision of Shahid and HH Shaikh Khalid working together.
“Brave. The Beginning” will take place on September 23 and will be the showcase proving to the world and Bahrain that a small country should not necessarily have a small vision. The card is stacked with world class Middle-Eastern and international fighters, some of whom have fought at the very highest level in MMA.
Brave New Era
But, Brave 1 is only the start for the CEO Shahid. “Brave CF is a system that allows nations to feel the full impact of what each of their athletes in Brave is achieving, and when they are carrying their flag at the global level. We work closely with other nations, and with the help of governments and our media partners, we will endeavour to set up offices in the respective countries. We want to make sure the athlete gets to let his country know that he waved his country’s flag on a global level.
“Meanwhile, the whole world is watching. Brave will show in 2017 why it is such a force for good, and we’re confident the fighters will be right behind our vision, because it is for the fighters.”
With this fighter-centered global vision and the pulling power held by HH Shaikh Khalid and Shahid, expect this brave new era to spark life into the Middle East, as it embraces the world and simultaneously the world embraces it.
