One year ago, Mohammed Yahya made history by being the first ever Emirati fighter to compete inside the UFC octagon. This was a huge moment not just for the country in terms of sports, but an opportunity to be a participant in global entertainment rather than just a host. In his debut in Abu Dhabi, Yahya lost via decision in front of his cheering home crowd, but was granted a second opportunity to redeem himself. But alas, the second result proved more devastating than the first, as Yahya was knocked out in the first round by the Brazilian, Kaue Fernandes.
When I interviewed Yahya for the first time ahead of his debut, as I learned about his background one thing became increasingly clear: contrary to Fernandes’ MMA journey, Yahya’s discovery of martial arts had been chosen, not forced. Fernandes trained with UFC legend Jose Aldo, a man dubbed ‘Scarface’, who famously slept on the mats of his favela gym with the owners scraping together funds just to purchase him a meal. The biography of fighters’ often echo this similar ethos: violent street fights, extreme poverty, hopelessness, eventually landing at a crossroads between professional fighting and death. When hearing the punishing stories of youth in the Brazilian favelas – the most recent standout being UFC light heavyweight champion, Alex Pereira, a man Daniel Cormier dubbed “Thanos” – one begins to understand where the life or death mentality comes from, a mindset presumably hard to understand when having been raised in the UAE, one of the safest, most prosperous nations on earth. This is the same reason we probably won’t have any fighters coming from Monaco anytime soon. Instead of a fist, you’ll get, “Touch me, and my daddy will sue you.”
This brings me to Khamzat Chimaev, the undefeated Chechen/Swedish UFC superstar who just demolished one of the most decorated fighters of all time, Robert Whittaker, in the first round less than 72 hours ago at UFC 308 in Abu Dhabi. Chechnya neighbours Dagestan, but if that doesn’t immediately tell you what kind of upbringing that might have entailed, just know that it’s about as far removed from the sparkling glitz of the UAE as you can get. And like Jose Aldo, Chimaev spent years sleeping in the basement of his gym alongside several other impoverished, aspiring fighters.
Last year, Chimaev revealed he had made the permanent move to Dubai from his adopted Sweden, citing a majority of reasons, but the most obvious one being this. Although eyebrows were raised over how this would effect his training – access to formidable training partners, sufficient facilities, and dealing with the inexperience of MMA in the country – this last weekend proved the relocation had been auspicious.
With the UAE’s unmatchable wealth, there is no shortage of financial backing, and aside from the UFC’s titanic headquarters in Las Vegas, it probably won’t take long until Dubai and Abu Dhabi build their own, respective fight facilities rivaling those in the US. But finding a local athlete(s) whose background mirrors the harsh realities of Khamzat’s, alongside every other fighter bred in fire, will be hard to find. Brazil has Jiu-Jitsu, America and Russia have some of the most grueling wrestling facilities on the planet, East Asia practically invented hand-to-hand combat, even the UK and Europe have some of the best boxers of all time both past and present. If one were to decide where to train – the brutality of the Brazilian favelas, the mountains of Russia, and open air gyms in Thailand versus an air conditioned luxury paradise in Dubai – in terms of fighting and grit, the option may seem rather obvious. All the things that make the UAE so attractive – safety, security, efficiency, comfort – are also what prevent it from creating a vicious mindset amongst its youth. One can only look at the current state of filmmaking and movie stars: majority of current actors on the Hollywood roster are all “nepo-babies”, i.e., the offspring to famous movie stars. When you’ve been raised in the limelight rife with chauffeurs and butlers, how are you expected to tell an authentic story that resonates with the masses? Spoiler alert: you’re not. And I’m not saying someone like Mohammed Yahya was raised with either, but the difference of living in a safe country as opposed to the crime ridden streets of a third world ghetto is enough of a stark contrast to separate men from men. Remember Gladiator? Despite all that private sword training in his emperor quarters, Commodus still got clobbered by the military leader turned slave, Maximus. Good luck striking fear into the man with nothing to lose.
For this latest training camp, Chimaev spoke openly about training at a notorious Russian wrestling facility situated atop one of the highest mountains in Europe. But as I spoke to him at the UFC 308 press conference just last week, he mentioned that his training in Dubai has been great, specifically at TK MMA Fit here in Dubai. As this temple of pain is now home to the most exciting prospect on the UFC roster, a man Dana White said has the potential to be ‘the next Conor McGregor’, one can imagine that as Chimaev’s star-power grows, so will the respect for the UAE not just as a host for events, but rather a breeding ground for fighting excellence.
I’m not saying that you have to be raised in hellish conditions in order to be a good fighter, although I’m sure it won’t hurt, but rather that the UAE has an opportunity to become a new global hub for MMA training, especially if it continues to attract top tier talent like Khamzat, and others from the most medieval pockets of the world. Innovative, futuristic wellness centers and facilities continue to sprout across Dubai like mushrooms, attracting some of the brightest, scientific minds from across the globe, and if your paycheck is getting wrung out by the taxman like Khamzat’s undoubtedly was in Sweden, why wouldn’t you make the move?
Boxer Chris Eubank Jr. recently made the permanent move from his native London to Dubai, and less than a month ago he, too, won in spectacular fashion in Saudi Arabia. “Dubai has been amazing for me, and the sports scene…is growing,” Eubank Jr., said, “which is great for someone like me who’s always looking for new challenges.”
As the iconic line goes from Field of Dreams, “Build it and they will come”. And who knows? Don’t be surprised if a young Emirati gets inspired by Khamzat’s latest victory, signs up at TK MMA Fit, and finds himself fighting for UFC gold in the not too distant future.
