Blood and sweat filled Zayed Sports City’s tennis complex last weekend, as the Abu Dhabi Fighting Championship returned for a gripping third helping of grapple-heavy action.
Emirati pugilist Ali Mohammed Ahli got the warmest reception of the night, as he leapt out of the cage into the flag-waving crowd following his second-round pasting of Malik Omarov. But even that was overshadowed by ADFC’s first ever female fight, which saw Dutch fighter Titiana van Polanen draw blood from Outi Louhimo and claim a first round TKO.
Meanwhile, in the headline bout, Russian Shamil Abdurahimov took just one minute and 56 seconds to see off Brazilian rival Marcos Oliviera, landing himself the ADFC’s first ever championship belt and bagging himself a Dhs1 million prize in the bargain.
