Millions of mixed martial arts fans tuned in to their television sets as the most anticipated lightweight title fight between Khabib Nurmagomedov and Dustin Poirier took place in Yas Island, Abu Dhabi, UAE, on Saturday, 7th of September, 2019. The UFC 242 has become the largest sporting event to have ever been staged in the Middle East.
The event marked the comeback of Khabib after he was banned for attacking Conor Mcgregor’s support staff last year in October. Khabib is also the first Muslim UFC champion after his historic win against Conor last year in October in which he defeated him by a record-breaking 27-0.
Khabib won the match against Poirier in the third round after 2.06 minutes as Poirier tapped out against khabib’s rear-naked choke making him a UFC champion for the second time and defended his title.
From hosting the Formula1 race in November 2009, to hosting the UFC for the third time since April 2014, UAE is rapidly growing into a massive worldwide sporting hub.
With a capacity of 13000 being filled and all tickets sold out, the event held on a Saturday afternoon was hailed as an “Overwhelming success” by Mr. Dana White, the president of UFC. People flew from all over the world in order to attend the event.
Founded in 1993, the sport grew massively since 2005 and is now one of the most trending sporting events in the world and is breaking all kinds of records in terms of viewership.
The sport is a combination of various martial arts such as wrestling, boxing, jiu-jitsu, taekwondo, etc. and is fought in an octagon-shaped ring. It consists of 3-5 rounds, each of 5 minutes, and the winner is decided on the basis of knockout, submission, or judge’s decision.
Mr. Dana White has also declared that fights will be held in the UAE capital on an annual basis till the year 2023 as per an agreement signed earlier this year which is great news for all UFC fans across the country.
By: – MOHAMMED SIDDIQ M.
ABU DHABI-UAE