BOOM! Emirati fighter Mohammad Yahya wins on his Bellator MMA debut with a first round knockout of Ash Griffiths.
After being the first Emirati fighter to ever sign a contract with Bellator MMA earlier this year, Mohammad Yahya (23-years-old), who trains out of TK MMA Dubai, made his promotional debut at Saturday’s Bellator 191.
The welterweight bout between Yahya and Ash Griffiths was the second bout on the main card which was aired on Spike TV. The action took place in Newcastle, England.
From the opening minute in the first round, Griffiths took advantage of the size difference, and quickly got the fight to the floor. He landed in Yahya’s guard, were the Emirati controlled his opponent’s posture, defended smartly and worked his way back to his feet.
Griffiths then went for an unsuccessful guillotine attempt, pulling guard and finding himself in a bad position. Yahya took this opportunity to land some ground and pound, improve his position and follow up with more pounding until the referee has seen enough. The ref stepped in and waved it off at 3:26 of Round 1.
With this win, Mohammad Yahya improved his record to (5-1 MMA), and became the first fighter from the United Arab Emirates to score a win in Bellator MMA. This win will go down in the history books, marking the efforts of Yahya and his coach Tam Khan to put UAE MMA on one of the biggest MMA platforms in the world.
Now that’s a statement!
