LAHORE: A total of four Pakistan fighters, three men and a woman, qualified for the final stage of the ongoing Asian MMA Championship in respective categories.
An eventful Day 3 of the Asian MMA Championship, which featured 38 matches, saw Pakistan’s Abdul Manan, Zeeshan Akbar, Shahab Ali and Bano Butt emerging triumphant and taking Team Pakistan into the finals.
In the third round of the women’s Atomweight bout, Bano outclassed India’s Khushboo Nishad via a knockout.
“I worked hard for the semi-final,” said Bano after the win.
“My category was junior but my coach asked me whether I could compete in the senior’s category. I responded positively because I wanted to test myself.
Bano further lauded Indian rival Khushboo and asserted that the latter is like her elder sister.
“The Indian rival is like an elder sister to me but in the cage, nobody’s your friend.
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Bano butt then went on to express her determination to win the Asian MMA Championship Gold medal for Team Pakistan.
Meanwhile, in the Men’s Lightweight category, Shahab Ali downed Team Lebanon’s Fadi Jaber while Abdul Manan knocked out Abdulla Ismaeel to make his way into the final round of the Flyweight category.
Continuing Team Pakistan’s dominance, Zeeshan Akbar made Kutberdi Kurdutulov tap via a rare-neck choke to advance into the final round of the Bantamweight division.
The final round of the Asian MMA Championship 2024 will be comprised of 22 bouts in different divisions.
A total of six Pakistan fighters, three men and as many women, will feature in the final as Eman Khan and Bushra Ahmed had already progressed on technical grounds.
The Asian Championship of MMA is being held in Pakistan for the first time, while Brave Combat Federation marked its return to Pakistan after a six-year gap.
This Asian MMA Championship, scheduled from 18th to 22nd August 2024, is being broadcast live on Pakistan’s first HD sports channel, A Sports, and simultaneously streamed on ARY ZAP.
A total of 12 countries are participating in the Asian Championship, featuring more than 180 fighters, 120 officials, and 120 technical staff will participate in the competitions.