Syria's Khalid Walled defeated Egypt's Hani Hurricane in December and promises to be in the second one. Photo: Khalid Walid Hassan.
A Jiu-Jitsu black belt and promoter of the Desert Force MMA event, Jordanian/Brazilian Zaid Mirza wants to use his MMA event to scout talent in the Middle East.
Mirza’s idea is to promote a GP within the next installment of DFC, on March 31, exclusively for fighters from Middle Eastern nations, Iran, and Turkey.
“From the last installment we already got a sense that there are greatly promising fighters in the region. I want to make their promise into reality,” says Mirza.
One who has lent his support to the idea is Alex Negão, a Carlson Gracie black belt residing in Abu Dhabi, where he coaches Emirates Team for MMA.
“It was a great idea of Zaid’s. I’ve seen a lot of good kids around these parts. I believe that in three years we’ll be able to launch some of them on the professional circuit,” wagers Alex.
Zaid adds that he included Iran and Turkey because they are sporting powerhouses in the region and have a great tradition in combat sports, thus raising the bar of the technical level of the competition and opening the market up for a total of 24 nations.
But anyone led to believe Desert Force will be restricted to Middle Eastern fighters couldn’t be further from the truth. The event will have a permanent professional card with fighters from all four corners of the earth.
Interested fighters, both for the Arab card and the international one, should send their Cvs for evaluation to info@desertfc.com.