(Riyadh) In a gym in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, Abdallah al-Qahtani goes on to beat his training partner, surrounded by a dozen other mixed martial arts (MMA) fighters sharing the same mat .
The decor is nothing like what awaits him this week in New York, under the spotlights of Madison Square Garden, where the Saudi and one of his compatriots will defend the colors of the kingdom against the big names in the discipline.
The AMMs, which combine several combat sports such as boxing, wrestling or Muay Thai, were little known in the Gulf monarchy until the organization of the regional competition Desert Force in 2014.
It has since grown in popularity with the emergence of fighters from the Middle East and the creation of a Saudi MMA foundation to support local talent.
On Wednesday night, Abdallah al-Qahtani and Jeddah-based Mostafa Rashed Neda will compete in New York in the Professional Fighters League (PFL) qualifiers, a showpiece competition they hope will earn them global recognition.
“They’re fighting to prove themselves,” says Peter Murray, CEO of the PFL, a rival to the famed Ultimate Fighting Championship.
For him, Saudi Arabia is a potential breeding ground for MMA fighters and fans.
“We think there is talent and a need for additional capabilities,” he adds.
Abdallah al-Qahtani, known as “The Reaper”, says he is ready to take on American featherweight David Zelner, despite his relatively limited experience.
His sports club, with walls lined with drawings of Mohammad Ali and Mike Tyson, may be “not the best” and doesn’t have the latest equipment, “but it has very good fighters,” he said.
Abdallah al-Qahtani returned to Saudi Arabia in 2010 after learning to box in Morocco, where he spent much of his childhood. couldn’t find a club where to train regularly until 2016.
Mostafa Rashed Neda had to turn to YouTube to learn about MMA techniques after being introduced to jiu-jitsu by his English teacher.
He has long promoted the discipline, presenting it as a form of “street fighting”, before creating his own club.
“It was a tough time, but thank God MMA has grown a lot in the last four or five years,” he rejoices.
“There’s a very large fan base, growing rapidly,” said PFL’s Peter Murray, who hopes to host events in the kingdom next year.
“WMA fans in the Middle East and Saudi Arabia are increasingly interested in the sport,” he adds.
However, the beginnings of MA in the country were not easy.
In 2019, sports and entertainment company Endeavor, owner of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, repaid a $400 million investment in the Saudi sovereign wealth fund, distancing itself after the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi by agents of the kingdom .
But for Saudi followers, Saudi’s emergence on the global MMA scene is inevitable, and they hope to demonstrate it in the Madison Square Garden cage.
“This fight will seal my fate […], it is a sacred place for us”, says Abdallah al-Qahtani: “God willing, I will make everyone proud and I will win. I’m not scared, I’m pretty excited.”