Samuel Bark ended Ali Al Qaisi’s reign as the UAE Warriors featherweight champion with a unanimous decision over the Jordanian at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre Marina on Saturday.
The emerging Swedish MMA fighter and former Muaythai champion has now won both of his UAE Warriors appearances, with his latest triumph stretching his professional MMA career record to 10-2.
Bark dominated the five rounds, scoring from a series of punches and landing his knees, as well as excellent takedown defence to have all three judges awarding the contest 48-47.
It was a disappointing night for Al Qaisi, though. Despite wanting to put on a show in the promotion’s milestone 50th event, his attempts at aggression continuously landed flat throughout the five rounds.
“I did what I wanted to do as I was focused only on my game plan and not on my opponent’s strengths, and everything went accordingly on the night for me,” Bark said.
“Coming into this contest, I felt more like it's a chance for me to show what I can do in MMA. This was also about the sacrifices and the end result of who had trained harder. I think I trained really harder.
“I’m super excited about the result and already looking for a title defence. I’m two from two in the promotion. Obviously, Abu Dhabi seems to be a place to be and I thoroughly enjoyed being in the spotlight tonight, and hopefully more to come.
“I’m going to celebrate this title when I get back home and then back to the gym and get going with my work.”
Tahir Abdullaev of Azerbaijan retained his welterweight title after a second round TKO (punches) of Russian Shakhban Alkhasov, the latter's first defeat in nine fights.
Brazilian Iago Ribeiro clinched the flyweight title with a third round TKO (elbows and punches) against Yamato Fujita, his first defeat in three UAE Warriors appearances.
Results
Featherweight title
Samuel Bark (SWE) defeated Ali Al Qaisi (JOR) – unanimous decision.
Welterweight title
Tahir Abdullaev (AZE) def Shakhban Alkhasov (RUS) – TKO Round 2.
Flyweight title
Iago Ribeiro (BRA) def Yamato Fujita (JPN) – TKO Rd 3.
Welterweight
Jakhongir Jumaev (UZB) def Andre Fialho (POR) KO Rd 1.
Lightweight
Diyar Nurkozhay (KAZ) def Emiliano Sordi (ARG) TKO Rd 1.
Catchweight 163lbs
Vladyslav Rudniev (UKR) def Nika Kupravishvili (GEO) unanimous decision.
Catchweight 194lbs
Mohamed Osseili (LEB) def Mamurjon Khamidov TKO retd Rd 2.
Bantamweight
Lucas Pereira (BRA) def Ariel Oliviros (PHI) KO Rd 1.
Flyweight (female)
Anelya Toktogonova (KYG) def Elin Oberg (SWE) submission Rd 3.
Catchweight 141lbs
Ullubiy Amirzhanov (RUS) def Syimyk Mahmedov (KYG) submission Rd 2.