A middle-weight bout between Tarek Suleiman (5-4 MMA, 3 SUB’s) and Ibrahim El Sawi (5-4 MMA, 4 KO’s) has officially been added to the Phoenix Fighting Championship (Phoenix 4 Dubai) fight card taking place in Dubai on the 22nd of December 2017.
Phoenix 4 Dubai will be headlined by a welterweight battle that marks Mounir Lazzez’s comeback when he meets Christophe Van Dijck. Also, the Phoenix MMA inaugural light heavyweight title is on the line when Moise Rimbon takes on Pavel Doroftei in a high level battle of veterans.
For many hardcore regional Arab fans, Suleiman vs. El Sawi is a dream match-up. They started their careers fighting at Desert Force, gradually becoming more popular in the Arab world and earning reputation for being finishers and physically tough fighters.
Both had their fair share of success with Suleiman out-performing and grinding international opponents, marking convincing first round wins against Yacine Bandoui and Christopher Silva.
El Sawi’s devastating power punching lead him to become the Desert Force middle-weight champion at one point, knocking out opponents in a scary fashion.
The first Phoenix FC event which took place in Lebanon saw both these fighters taking part of the competition. Unfortunately, El Sawi fought in a Muay Thai bout, losing a unanimous decision and Suleiman entered a mixed martial arts bout, losing via an unexpected first round submission while re-matching Grigoriy Kichigin. Now, with this scheduled fight at hand, they are looking to get back to their winning ways.
What’s most interesting about this match is that, although both these men are very well rounded in mixed martial arts, Suleiman has a preference for the wrestling and ground game, while El Sawi is a heavy and vicious striker. It will be interesting to see whether this fight will play out to be a classical striker vs. grappler match, or if these men will mix it up to the best of their ability.
A win for either man is huge for their record, as both these fighters are very well-known and appreciated names, but on a losing skid in their latest outings. This fight is highly anticipated by fans and has potentially been years in the making. Expect to see an awesome battle at the Dubai World Trade Center.
