Mixed martial arts keep growing in popularity in Qatar. The Gulf region stands as a promising market for international organisations like ONE and PFL.
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00:00Being related to him carries weight, but you know, I welcome it all, you know, pressure
00:07I believe makes diamonds.
00:08I hope that one day I become a diamond because of all the pressure.
00:11Giving me integrity, humility, honor, respect, courage, discipline, a warrior spirit, so
00:15many incredible things, and that's what the martial arts is about.
00:21Hello and welcome to Cutler 365 with me, Adil Haleem.
00:25On this episode, the world's largest martial arts organization, One Championship, is making
00:30its historic debut in Qatar.
00:32I've come to the Lusail Sports Arena for a fight night and what is being billed as a
00:36martial arts extravaganza.
00:38Let's check out the action.
00:48These fans are lining up to catch a glimpse of their sporting heroes.
00:51Already hugely popular in Asia, One Championship is expanding into the Middle East market.
00:59The ten bout card in Qatar saw three world title rematches and featured Middle Eastern
01:04and international fighters competing in a mix of Muay Thai, boxing, submission grappling,
01:10and mixed martial arts.
01:13Ahead of match day, the fighters put on a show for fans in a picturesque backdrop at
01:18the beach, showcasing some of their skills inside the ring.
01:23Things were a little more tense in the pre-fight press conference.
01:27Undefeated MMA champion, Anatoly Malikin, promised a knockout win over the Dutch knight,
01:32Reinier de Ritter, in the main event.
01:37And on fight night, he delivered.
01:39The 36-year-old pummeled the defending middleweight champion to become the first three-division
01:44MMA world champion.
01:47But soon after going head-to-head with RDR, Malikin was right there to pick his opponent
01:51off the mat and shower him with praise.
01:54This guy, legend, this guy best of the best my opponent.
02:01This is just the second time One has been in the region.
02:04But a lot has changed since that maiden 2014 event in Dubai.
02:08First of all, Amir Ali Akbari has become a huge social media star with nearly three million
02:13followers on Instagram.
02:15The Iranian heavyweight can't wait for the opening bell.
02:18Welcome the Iranian stronger not, Amir Ali Akbari.
02:28After a rough start to his one championship career, including a first round knockout at
02:32the hands of Malikin in 2021, Amir Ali Akbari is on the road to redemption.
02:39I have a fight, you know.
02:41I'm born warrior and I like fight.
02:44The 36-year-old wants another heavyweight title shot with his Russian foe.
02:49But in order to get there, he had to go through Indo-Canadian Arjun Bullock.
02:54The Iranian imposed his will to the point his opponent kept backing away and was eventually
02:59disqualified for inactivity in round three.
03:02I think and I hope in children and younger guys, after watch this fight and interested
03:09for fight and come in train, you know.
03:11It's very good for body, for mind, for everything.
03:15This fight is the best athletes, you know.
03:18Ali Akbari is considered the region's best chance to bring a gold belt to the Middle
03:22East.
03:23Over in the flyweight submission grappling match, Saudi-born Yemeni jiu-jitsu world champion
03:29Osama Omaroui said he was not only fighting for himself, but the entire region.
03:34This is my first time fighting in the Middle East ever since I got my black belt.
03:38I won the world championship in California, but I never got to showcase my skills.
03:42And this was what motivated me to train hard.
03:44In my head, I was like, man, there's no way I'm going to lose in the Middle East.
03:48So hopefully I can win.
03:49Unfortunately for the 32-year-old, that pressure may have been a bit too much as he was submitted
03:54by Brazilian Gleyber Souza in round one.
03:58But Omaroui can't wait for one to come back for an encore.
04:01I truly believe this is the first event of many in Qatar and the Middle East.
04:05It's just like a big opportunity for us to showcase our skills.
04:09And I will say this in the next five, ten years, trust me, on the stage in the press
04:13conference, you're going to see a lot of not only Middle Eastern athletes, but Middle Eastern
04:19champions.
04:20After this debut in Qatar, one championship will undoubtedly expand its fan base in this
04:25country and across the region.
04:27I got a chance to sit down with founder and CEO, Chakri Sityadong, to find out how he
04:31plans to grow the sport globally.
04:35This is just the beginning of the world's largest martial arts organization, and our
04:40story of showcasing these incredible heroes from every region of the world.
04:45We just saw the press conference, and you referred to the fighters as heroes.
04:48Yes.
04:49Well, that was the whole birth of one.
04:52You know, I wanted to showcase something that was very different, but yet very authentic
04:55to martial arts.
04:56You know, martial arts is not necessarily what we see in the West being portrayed as
05:00thugs, and blood sport, and trash talk, and insults of religions, and whatnot.
05:05You know, I've been doing martial arts for almost 40 years, and it's given me, through
05:08thousands of hours of training, it's given me integrity, humility, honor, respect, courage,
05:13discipline, warrior spirit, so many incredible things.
05:15And that's what martial arts is about.
05:17And these are lifelong martial arts who happen to be the very best in the world at what they
05:21do.
05:22And they can inspire the world, you know, with their greatness, with their stories,
05:24with their values.
05:25You call the one the Olympics of martial arts.
05:28Yes.
05:29How come?
05:30The best of the best from all over the world, across all the different martial arts there
05:33are.
05:34So, that's why it's the Olympics.
05:35You know, the Olympics, every four years, we get to see the very best athletes across
05:39all different sports on the planet, all from all over the world.
05:42It's the exact same thing here, except we get to showcase every week, actually, 6,100
05:47shows this year.
05:48The best of the best across all these different disciplines in martial arts.
05:51What is often compared to, sometimes even pitted against, the UFC.
05:54Yes.
05:55You're both leaders in your own right.
05:57Yes.
05:58For the uninitiated, what's the similarities and differences between the two?
06:01Sure.
06:02Well, the global combat sports industry is now a global duopoly.
06:05UFC has a lion's share of the West, we have the lion's share of the East.
06:09But yet, our DNA is 180 degrees opposite from each other.
06:12I think both rosters are equivalent, the very best of the best in the world.
06:18But UFC only focuses on one discipline, mixed martial arts.
06:21Whereas one championship focuses on all the martial arts, whether it's MMA, kickboxing,
06:26Muay Thai, grappling, and even boxing.
06:28And showcasing all the different martial arts makes us a bigger platform.
06:31Personally, what do you love about martial arts?
06:33You know, the biggest misconception about martial arts is that it's about violence.
06:37Yes, I can defend myself against 99% of people in unarmed combat, but that's the surface
06:44of what martial arts teaches.
06:46You know, the journey of continuous self-improvement, of struggling, of training, of perfecting
06:50your craft.
06:51Thousands of hours of overcoming, struggling creates grit and resilience and integrity
06:58and humility and honor, respect, all the incredible values.
07:01And I really believe that martial arts is one of the greatest platforms to unleash human
07:04potential.
07:05It gives you that warrior spirit to conquer adversity in life.
07:07And that's the beauty.
07:08And that's what I want to showcase.
07:09I want to showcase the greatness of humanity, the goodness of humanity.
07:13Hey, Chachi, thanks so much.
07:15Thank you, appreciate it.
07:18While the UFC and ONE are the leading global combat sports empires, another competitor
07:23has rapidly been taking the fight to them.
07:26The Professional Fighters League entered the arena in 2018, boasting some well-known investors.
07:31Today, they claim to be the fastest growing sports league in the world.
07:35Fresh off its expansion into Europe, the PFL is making its move into the Middle East and
07:39North Africa, and Laila Humaira got a look at all the hype.
07:45Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee.
07:48What the hands can't hit, what the eyes can't see.
07:52Muhammad Ali famously said those words in 1964 before staging one of the biggest upsets
07:58in the boxing world, which launched his decorated 21-year career.
08:03The incredible story of the people's champ has been sealed into eternal glory in museums
08:08all around the world, including here at the 321 Qatar Olympic and Sports Museum.
08:14This boxing zone is the latest gallery launch to honor the world's most famous boxing icons,
08:20including the GOAT, the greatest of all time, Muhammad Ali.
08:24Today, his legacy continues in many ways.
08:27Muhammad Ali's fighting spirit is being kept alive through his grandson, Biagio Ali Walsh.
08:34I call him Papi, and that's been who he was my whole life.
08:39When I was a little kid, he was just Grandpa, but he was still always like a superhero to
08:43me. I always knew he was a boxer, so it wasn't until I got older that I started to discover
08:48more about what he's done, what he stood for, and the people he's helped.
08:53While Papi had a career in boxing, Biagio is creating his own path in combat sports
08:59with mixed martial arts by competing in the Professional Fighter's League.
09:04MMA fighters get a chance to fight for a million dollars and win a belt, and it's structured
09:10by points, so it's basically kind of like an old-school throwback fighting tournament.
09:17PFL first came into the spotlight in 2018, backed by major sports investors.
09:24Today, it's broadcast in 160 countries with two international leagues.
09:31After launching in Europe in 2023, PFL has ventured into the Middle East and North Africa,
09:37an audience Biagio is hoping to captivate.
09:41I think that the way that the tournament is structured, and not even just the tournament
09:45but the showcase spouts as well, I think that it forces the fighters to fight and actually
09:52go out there and put on a show. So any PFL event, expect some exciting fights.
09:57The 25-year-old knows he'll be standing in the shadow of his grandfather, but Biagio
10:02believes he's a hidden gem in MMA, looking to shine when the time is right.
10:08Being related to him carries weight, but I welcome it all. Pressure, I believe, makes
10:13diamonds. I hope that one day I become a diamond because of all the pressure.
10:17Another fighter in the PFL's Middle East and North Africa cards is making history just
10:23by competing.
10:24Hattan Al Saif is the first-ever Saudi woman to sign a deal with an international MMA league,
10:30an achievement she doesn't take lightly.
10:32It means a lot. It's a very heavy something to carry on because I'm going to represent
10:39every female in my country and every person in my country also at the same time.
10:45In her debut fight for the PFL, the 22-year-old dazzled the home crowd in Riyadh, knocking
10:51out her opponent, Egypt's Nada Fahim, with a head kick in the second round.
10:57For girls who watched the fight, her victory feels like a win for them too, as more are
11:02feeling empowered to overcome societal barriers to try their hand at combat sports.
11:08There's a lot of girls coming to our gym. They were telling me that they were so proud
11:13to see a girl like them that is fighting, and they really would love to support me and
11:20to be like me.
11:21With fighters like Biagio and Hattan on the PFL's roster, it's only a matter of time
11:26before more fans in the Middle East get to see them live in action.
11:34From one championship's blockbuster fight night debut in Qatar to the PFL's ambitious
11:39move to the Middle East, it's a win-win for all MMA leagues grappling for a slice of the
11:45market.
11:46Now, we hope you enjoyed this episode, but that's all the time we have for now. For more,
11:50check out euronews.com and connect with us through a hashtag. Thanks for watching, and
11:53we'll see you next time on Qatar 365.
11:56Transcribed by https://otter.ai