ABU DHABI // Some of the biggest names in mixed martial arts will appear in the capital in a competition to be hosted on Yas Island.
The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) organisers today unveiled details of the competition, which will come to the UAE in April.
Abu Dhabi's Ferrari World concert arena on Yas Island will play host to two world title bouts and clashes between some of the toughest fighters in the UFC.
The one-night competition on April 10 will be the first time that the billion-dollar UFC brand has arranged such an event in the Middle East.
It will also be the first time that UFC fights, which are most often staged indoors, will be held in an outdoor arena.
The sport, which pits fighters trained in a combination of martial arts such as jiu-jitsu, karate and kickboxing, is now one of the most popular televised combat sports in the world and is beamed into around 430 million homes in 130 countries.
The fight-night, UFC 112, will see the middleweight champion Anderson Silva defend his middleweight belt against Vitor Belfort and BJ Penn, the reigning lightweight champion, lock horns with Frankie Edgar.
chamilton@thenational.ae
T20 World Cup Qualifier
October 18 – November 2
Opening fixtures
Friday, October 18
ICC Academy: 10am, Scotland v Singapore, 2.10pm, Netherlands v Kenya
Zayed Cricket Stadium: 2.10pm, Hong Kong v Ireland, 7.30pm, Oman v UAE
UAE squad
Ahmed Raza (captain), Rohan Mustafa, Ashfaq Ahmed, Rameez Shahzad, Darius D’Silva, Mohammed Usman, Mohammed Boota, Zawar Farid, Ghulam Shabber, Junaid Siddique, Sultan Ahmed, Imran Haider, Waheed Ahmed, Chirag Suri, Zahoor Khan
Players out: Mohammed Naveed, Shaiman Anwar, Qadeer Ahmed
Players in: Junaid Siddique, Darius D’Silva, Waheed Ahmed
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
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In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
