The Arab Champions team for MMA Super Cup, the largest amateur mixed martial arts tournament in the history of combat sport, has been confirmed with athletes and coaches from seven Arab nations: Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Saudi Arabia and Tunisia.
Organized by BRAVE CF as part of BRAVE International Combat Week, the largest combat sports festival in Asia, the MMA Super Cup presents some of the strongest, national amateur MMA teams in the world, according to the IMMAF World Amateur MMA rankings alongside wildcard teams.
Taking place in the Kingdom of Bahrain on 9, 10 and 12 March 2022, the teams will be facing off to determine the greatest nation(s) in MMA and for the opportunity to win cash prizes of US$100,000, US$75,000 and US$50,000 for first to third place respectively. The prize money is intended to fund the development of the next generation of MMA athletes in the winning nations through their IMMAF affiliated national federations.
IMMAF Rising Star and middleweight Hazem Kayyali (JOR) is the most renowned athlete on the squad having gold-medaled at the 2021 World Cup Prague. The charismatic 21-year-old’s earlier IMMAF outing saw him earn a bronze medal at the 2019 World Championships in the junior light heavyweight division, losing out to Russian stand-out and eventual 2-time champion, Omar Aliev. Hazem suffered disappointment at the recent 2021 World Championships where he lost on day 2 to eventual gold medalist Fergus Jenkins (NZA). Jenkins will not be representing at the MMA Super Cup, but if the Arab Champions prevail in the quarterfinals, Kayyali will be up against Jenkin’s compatriot Jonas Grace in the semifinals.
Light Heavyweight Ricardo Bachir (LEB) has recorded some notable victories on the IMMAF platform since 2014 including at World Championship level. The IMMAF veteran won a silver medal at the 2019 Asian Open Championships in Bangkok.
Other IMMAF veterans include: bantamweight Fars Khalid Alraimi (KSA), lightweight Abdalrhman Alhyasat (JOR), welterweight Elie Mansour (LEB) and heavyweight Skander Ben Ghali (TUN) who has also triumphed at Cage Warriors Fight Night.
The Arab Champions full athlete line-up is as follows:
Men:
● Bantamweight (135lbs): Fars Khalid Alraimi (KSA)
Substitute: Abdulsalam Ghazi (IRQ)
● Featherweight (145lbs): Osama Raddad (EGY)
● Lightweight (155lbs): Abdalrhman Alhyasat (JOR)
● Welterweight (170lbs): Elie Mansour (LEB)
● Middleweight (185lbs): Hazem Kayyali (JOR)
● Light Heavyweight (205lbs): Ricardo Bachir (LEB)
● Heavyweight (265lbs): Skander Ben Ghali (TUN)
Women:
- Flyweight (125lbs): Rana Saied Alsayed Metwaly Mohamed
- Bantamweight women (135lbs): Maha Houimel (TUN)
Substitute: Radwa Abdelaziz (EGY)
Coaches: Ashraf Shishani (JOR); Anas Siraj Mounir (MAR)
The MMA Super Cup takes place between March 8 to March 12, during BRAVE International Combat Week, with BRAVE CF 57 taking place on Friday 11 and an Opening Ceremony on 8 March. BRAVE International Combat Week will be broadcasted on bravecftv.com.
