Hadi Omar Al Hussaini’s rise through professional mixed martial arts has been rapid. Remarkable, too.
The Emirati, who took up MMA at university “by accident”, entered the paid ranks less than three years ago. He won his first two pro bouts, as a flyweight with UAE Warriors, and eventually went unbeaten through five fights in the Abu Dhabi-based promotion.
In between, Al Hussaini began training with Khabib Nurmagomedov and Islam Makhachev, UFC champions past and present. Nurmagomedov is considered one of the greatest to ever enter a cage, while current lightweight title-holder Makhachev appears to be charting a path towards that, as well.
All that time, Al Hussaini has honed his skills under the watchful eye of renowned coach Javier Mendez. He refers to the American now as his “mentor”.
To underscore the relationship, the Dubai-born athlete spent his most recent training camp at Mendez’s famed American Kickboxing Academy in San Jose, California. There, he was coached by Cain Velasquez, a former UFC heavyweight champion of the world.
However, two weeks ago, Al Hussaini’s career took what feels another prodigious leap. Having returned in March from a year out with a dominant win in the Middle East Fighting Championship in Al Ain, he received a call from the Professional Fighters League (PFL), the No 2-ranked MMA promotion in the sport.
Al Hussaini, 5-0-1 as a pro, had a number of other offers but, after seeking Mendez’s counsel, promptly signed a multi-fight deal with the fast-growing organisation. He expects to debut this summer, when he will become the first from the UAE to compete in the PFL.
And from there, Al Hussaini says, the sky’s the limit.
“For me, it's like a dream, starting from a little kid that had no dreams, nothing, to fighting in one of the best promotions in the world,” he tells The National.
“I'm happy for this and I'm excited to be able to fight there and represent my country, as I'm the first and only Emirati that is competing in this league. It's a proud moment.”
Al Hussaini, who has a Masters in sports management, understands the opportunity in front of him. The PFL has only just branched out into the region, and will next week stage its inaugural PFL Mena event, in Saudi Arabia.
A regional league, the second after last year’s successful launch of PFL Europe, it is designed to promote Mena’s top talent, while it also provides a pathway to the promotion’s global division. PFL Global offers $1 million in prize money per weight class.
PFL Mena: Riyadh, taking place in the Saudi capital on May 10, will represent the first of four events in the 2024 season, with fighters competing in the promotion’s traditional, play-off-win-and-advance format.
“They’re growing and growing,” Al Hussaini says. “They’re getting the best of the best in the region. That’s the big thing. They’re not just signing anyone; they’re taking the best in the region, the best in the world, and they’re doing the Mena tournament, the Europe tournament ... Africa’s coming.
“Then the best goes to the global. So it’s a big opportunity. And being the only UAE local there, it’s a big responsibility for me. To go there, I should show the world, ‘Hey, Emiratis can fight’.
“For me, it's not about only victory. Giving back to my country is the real win; to be able to raise my flag and represent, giving back to my country that gave us everything.
“So that's going to be my motivation, my fire in my next bout in the PFL.”
Al Hussaini, 32, recognises what’s needed to make a success of what he envisages should represent his peak years in the sport. Yet, even with Mendez’s backing, the expert tutelage, the top-of-the-range training facilities, pro MMA remains an expensive pursuit.
With a young family to take care off – his daughter will soon celebrate her first birthday – it's why Al Hussaini stopped competing for a year, returning instead to full-time employment.
“Like everyone says, one hand cannot clap,” he says. “I'll need the support of my country and support of my people and, Inshallah, I'll be the victor.”
Thankfully, though, with Mendez’s guidance, he has a pretty decent head-start. Most of the building blocks are in place.
“Javier Mendez is not only a coach for me; he's a big brother, he's a mentor,” Al Hussaini says. “He helped me a lot to grow as an athlete and as a martial artist.
“I'll be always thankful and grateful to this person, obviously because of his track record as well. Also, I want to shout out to the coaches that trained me in American Kickboxing Academy: coach Ron Keslar, coach Cain Velasquez.
“They also helped me a lot to grow and to improve myself as a fighter and as an athlete. They helped me a lot to come back, especially after a very big gap when I went off from fighting for a while. They helped me regain my confidence and build myself back to the cage and handle that.
“And I got my win in my last fight [a unanimous decision against Algerian Adel Ayn Zarka] and I'm so grateful for them and so thankful. The best in the game.”
Grateful, even if they did make Al Hussaini suffer for it.
“Cain Velasquez, he's very kind-hearted, but a very tough coach,” Al Hussaini smiles. “Training with him is no joke. He's just always coming forward, always tough. For them, if you're there you have to put in 110 per cent.
“I was always a fan of Velasquez and he's a big legend for me. So, training with him and learning from him is an honour. I’m just so happy. I learned a lot; he doesn't know, even outside the training mat. He’s a big brother inside the mat and outside the mat.”
Al Hussani is now inside the PFL, even if his introductory fight in yet to be confirmed. He anticipates it will fall in Saudi Arabia, ticking off another long-held dream.
“So many people have reached out to me, telling me congratulations and this big achievement to sign with the PFL, but in my mind, I didn't achieve anything yet,” Al Hussaini says.
“Unless I get my hand raised, get my win, and be able to raise my UAE flag in Saudi Arabia, that is considered also our second home, only after that it’s considered an achievement for me.
“I’m not going there just to fight. I'm going there to get this tournament and to get these victories and come back. I'm going to showcase my skills. I'm going to go to the PFL and show them the real Emirati warrior.”
MATCH INFO
Inter Milan 1 (Martinez 18' pen)
Juventus 2 (Dybala 4', Higuain 80')
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-finals, second leg:
Liverpool (0) v Barcelona (3), Tuesday, 11pm UAE
Game is on BeIN Sports
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
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What are NFTs?
Are non-fungible tokens a currency, asset, or a licensing instrument? Arnab Das, global market strategist EMEA at Invesco, says they are mix of all of three.
You can buy, hold and use NFTs just like US dollars and Bitcoins. “They can appreciate in value and even produce cash flows.”
However, while money is fungible, NFTs are not. “One Bitcoin, dollar, euro or dirham is largely indistinguishable from the next. Nothing ties a dollar bill to a particular owner, for example. Nor does it tie you to to any goods, services or assets you bought with that currency. In contrast, NFTs confer specific ownership,” Mr Das says.
This makes NFTs closer to a piece of intellectual property such as a work of art or licence, as you can claim royalties or profit by exchanging it at a higher value later, Mr Das says. “They could provide a sustainable income stream.”
This income will depend on future demand and use, which makes NFTs difficult to value. “However, there is a credible use case for many forms of intellectual property, notably art, songs, videos,” Mr Das says.
Know your Camel lingo
The bairaq is a competition for the best herd of 50 camels, named for the banner its winner takes home
Namoos - a word of congratulations reserved for falconry competitions, camel races and camel pageants. It best translates as 'the pride of victory' - and for competitors, it is priceless
Asayel camels - sleek, short-haired hound-like racers
Majahim - chocolate-brown camels that can grow to weigh two tonnes. They were only valued for milk until camel pageantry took off in the 1990s
Millions Street - the thoroughfare where camels are led and where white 4x4s throng throughout the festival
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MATCH INFO
Quarter-finals
Saturday (all times UAE)
England v Australia, 11.15am
New Zealand v Ireland, 2.15pm
Sunday
Wales v France, 11.15am
Japan v South Africa, 2.15pm
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Terror attacks in Paris, November 13, 2015
- At 9.16pm, three suicide attackers killed one person outside the Atade de France during a foootball match between France and Germany
- At 9.25pm, three attackers opened fire on restaurants and cafes over 20 minutes, killing 39 people
- Shortly after 9.40pm, three other attackers launched a three-hour raid on the Bataclan, in which 1,500 people had gathered to watch a rock concert. In total, 90 people were killed
- Salah Abdeslam, the only survivor of the terrorists, did not directly participate in the attacks, thought to be due to a technical glitch in his suicide vest
- He fled to Belgium and was involved in attacks on Brussels in March 2016. He is serving a life sentence in France
ITU Abu Dhabi World Triathlon
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PROFILE
Name: Enhance Fitness
Year started: 2018
Based: UAE
Employees: 200
Amount raised: $3m
Investors: Global Ventures and angel investors
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Liverpool's all-time goalscorers
Ian Rush 346
Roger Hunt 285
Mohamed Salah 250
Gordon Hodgson 241
Billy Liddell 228
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BMW M5 specs
Engine: 4.4-litre twin-turbo V-8 petrol enging with additional electric motor
Power: 727hp
Torque: 1,000Nm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 10.6L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh650,000
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Director: Jon M Chu
Starring: Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo, Jonathan Bailey, Jeff Goldblum, Michelle Yeoh, Ethan Slater
Rating: 4/5
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It's Monty Python's Crashing Rocket Circus
To the theme tune of the famous zany British comedy TV show, SpaceX has shown exactly what can go wrong when you try to land a rocket.
The two minute video posted on YouTube is a compilation of crashes and explosion as the company, created by billionaire Elon Musk, refined the technique of reusable space flight.
SpaceX is able to land its rockets on land once they have completed the first stage of their mission, and is able to resuse them multiple times - a first for space flight.
But as the video, How Not to Land an Orbital Rocket Booster, demonstrates, it was a case if you fail, try and try again.
New UK refugee system
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- Shortened leave to remain - refugees will receive 30 months instead of five years
- A longer path to settlement with no indefinite settled status until a refugee has spent 20 years in Britain
- To encourage refugees to integrate the government will encourage them to out of the core protection route wherever possible.
- Under core protection there will be no automatic right to family reunion
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Another way to earn air miles
In addition to the Emirates and Etihad programmes, there is the Air Miles Middle East card, which offers members the ability to choose any airline, has no black-out dates and no restrictions on seat availability. Air Miles is linked up to HSBC credit cards and can also be earned through retail partners such as Spinneys, Sharaf DG and The Toy Store.
An Emirates Dubai-London round-trip ticket costs 180,000 miles on the Air Miles website. But customers earn these ‘miles’ at a much faster rate than airline miles. Adidas offers two air miles per Dh1 spent. Air Miles has partnerships with websites as well, so booking.com and agoda.com offer three miles per Dh1 spent.
“If you use your HSBC credit card when shopping at our partners, you are able to earn Air Miles twice which will mean you can get that flight reward faster and for less spend,” says Paul Lacey, the managing director for Europe, Middle East and India for Aimia, which owns and operates Air Miles Middle East.
Jetour T1 specs
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Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
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The bio
Date of Birth: April 25, 1993
Place of Birth: Dubai, UAE
Marital Status: Single
School: Al Sufouh in Jumeirah, Dubai
University: Emirates Airline National Cadet Programme and Hamdan University
Job Title: Pilot, First Officer
Number of hours flying in a Boeing 777: 1,200
Number of flights: Approximately 300
Hobbies: Exercising
Nicest destination: Milan, New Zealand, Seattle for shopping
Least nice destination: Kabul, but someone has to do it. It’s not scary but at least you can tick the box that you’ve been
Favourite place to visit: Dubai, there’s no place like home
WOMAN AND CHILD
Director: Saeed Roustaee
Starring: Parinaz Izadyar, Payman Maadi
Rating: 4/5
Dubai World Cup factbox
Most wins by a trainer: Godolphin’s Saeed bin Suroor(9)
Most wins by a jockey: Jerry Bailey(4)
Most wins by an owner: Godolphin(9)
Most wins by a horse: Godolphin’s Thunder Snow(2)
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