Mohammed Mardi declared winning the Arab Muaythai Fight Night welterweight title as a “very special” moment in his illustrious career after being crowned the event's first champion at Space 42 Arena in Abu Dhabi.
The 22-year-old Emirati is a four-time winner in the Muaythai Worlds, including the IFMA Youth Worlds, and compared his title victory to his world championship gold medals.
“I’m so proud to hold this belt in this inaugural competition that drew professional fighters from the Arab World,” Mardi told The National after his unanimous decision victory over the Algerian Lyes Ouari in the main title contest.
“This is a great honour for me and a very special title for me, the UAE and for the home fans as the first champion of the Arab Muaythai Night. This is a very exciting and prestigious competition and I’m glad to be the first winner.
“I want to thank the fans who came in numbers to keep me going throughout this competition. And, of course, the support of my trainers and teammates that provided me the persistence, passion, and courage to take the fight against my opponent in the main final.”
Mardi dominated the title fight after inflicting a deep cut on Ouari’s forehead in the first round. He used his elbows to create the wound and used his advantage to rack up the points in the next two rounds.
“I think I had a pretty good first round and kept that advantage going by using my elbows and high kicks in the next two rounds," Mardi said. "It wasn’t as easy as it looked, though. Lyse is an experienced fighter with a 17-6 (win-loss) professional record and he kept coming at me despite the early damage to his forehead.”
To reach the main final, both Mardi and Ouari had to overcome a fight each in the preliminary rounds, each claiming unanimous decisions over Moroccan Hamza Rachid and Sajjad Basheer of Iraq, respectively.
It was a successful night for the UAE fighters with all four emerging victorious. Ahmed Al Shammar got the better of Libyan Mohamad Alkharraz in the opening bantamweight clash of the 15-fight card; Rafi Ramzi won by unanimous decision over Tunisian Souhaib Skik in a light-heavyweight bout; and Ibrahim Bilal stopped Bahman Mohammed of Iraq in Round 3.
The co-main heavyweight contest between Moroccan Othmane Fekaki and Tunisian Mohamed Trabelsi ended in a tie with all three judges declaring the final round 28-28.
Tarek Al Muhairi, General Secretary of both the UAE Muaythai and Kickboxing Federation and the Arab Muaythai Federation, was full of praise for the inaugural Arab Muaythai Fight Night.
“It was a huge success in every aspect of this competition,” he said. “Every contest was of quality, the crowd and atmosphere was great, and for us, a brilliant start to this exciting event.
“This is going to be a permanent fixture as a Muaythai Tour event for the professionals with a title contest introduced at every fight night.
“The plan is to stage the fight nights in different cities in the Arab World. We are yet to decide where the next fight night will be held as we must go through the muaythai world calendar for a window, but for sure, from the success we have had at this inaugural event, the fight night is going to go places.”
Stephan Fox, general secretary of the International Federation of Muaythai Amateur and vice president of the World Muaythai Council, described the Arab Muaythai Fight Night as a milestone for the sport.
“Muaythai has a strong presence in the Arab World and these kinds of events are only going to strengthen and accelerate the growth of the sport in the region,” he said.
“We are now also in the Islamic Games from next year onwards, so we need to build all the Arab countries. And tonight, we have seen amazing stand-ups from all the participants. There is a big, big way forward.
“Abu Dhabi and the UAE have become one of the strongest countries in the world. We have seen it at the last senior World Championship.
“You have seen the champion tonight, he (Mardi) comes from the youth, he was the former youth world champion. So, I think the UAE Muaythai Federation is doing it very smart by building on the next generation, having a strong youth and therefore the future looks very bright.”
The burning issue
The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.
Read part four: an affection for classic cars lives on
Read part three: the age of the electric vehicle begins
Read part one: how cars came to the UAE
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
Moonfall
Director: Rolan Emmerich
Stars: Patrick Wilson, Halle Berry
Rating: 3/5
Veil (Object Lessons)
Rafia Zakaria
Bloomsbury Academic
SPEC SHEET
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Chip: Apple M1, 8-core CPU, 8-core GPU, 16-core Neural Engine
Memory: 64/256GB storage; 8GB RAM
Main camera: 12MP wide, f/1.8, Smart HDR
Video: 4K @ 25/25/30/60fps, full HD @ 25/30/60fps, slo-mo @ 120/240fps
Front camera: 12MP ultra-wide, f/2.4, Smart HDR, Centre Stage; full HD @ 25/30/60fps
Audio: Stereo speakers
Biometrics: Touch ID
I/O: USB-C, smart connector (for folio/keyboard)
Battery: Up to 10 hours on Wi-Fi; up to 9 hours on cellular
Finish: Space grey, starlight, pink, purple, blue
Price: Wi-Fi – Dh2,499 (64GB) / Dh3,099 (256GB); cellular – Dh3,099 (64GB) / Dh3,699 (256GB)
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
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The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
More from Neighbourhood Watch:
How to keep control of your emotions
If your investment decisions are being dictated by emotions such as fear, greed, hope, frustration and boredom, it is time for a rethink, Chris Beauchamp, chief market analyst at online trading platform IG, says.
Greed
Greedy investors trade beyond their means, open more positions than usual or hold on to positions too long to chase an even greater gain. “All too often, they incur a heavy loss and may even wipe out the profit already made.
Tip: Ignore the short-term hype, noise and froth and invest for the long-term plan, based on sound fundamentals.
Fear
The risk of making a loss can cloud decision-making. “This can cause you to close out a position too early, or miss out on a profit by being too afraid to open a trade,” he says.
Tip: Start with a plan, and stick to it. For added security, consider placing stops to reduce any losses and limits to lock in profits.
Hope
While all traders need hope to start trading, excessive optimism can backfire. Too many traders hold on to a losing trade because they believe that it will reverse its trend and become profitable.
Tip: Set realistic goals. Be happy with what you have earned, rather than frustrated by what you could have earned.
Frustration
Traders can get annoyed when the markets have behaved in unexpected ways and generates losses or fails to deliver anticipated gains.
Tip: Accept in advance that asset price movements are completely unpredictable and you will suffer losses at some point. These can be managed, say, by attaching stops and limits to your trades.
Boredom
Too many investors buy and sell because they want something to do. They are trading as entertainment, rather than in the hope of making money. As well as making bad decisions, the extra dealing charges eat into returns.
Tip: Open an online demo account and get your thrills without risking real money.
What can victims do?
Always use only regulated platforms
Stop all transactions and communication on suspicion
Save all evidence (screenshots, chat logs, transaction IDs)
Report to local authorities
Warn others to prevent further harm
Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence
Specs
Engine: Duel electric motors
Power: 659hp
Torque: 1075Nm
On sale: Available for pre-order now
Price: On request
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RACE SCHEDULE
All times UAE ( 4 GMT)
Friday, September 29
First practice: 7am - 8.30am
Second practice: 11am - 12.30pm
Saturday, September 30
Qualifying: 1pm - 2pm
Sunday, October 1
Race: 11am - 1pm
