Now that the wild ride leading up to Desert Force 23 is almost over, it’s time to take a look at an event that looks a bit different from the one that was originally booked.
There were a number of shuffles to the card, but it’s still a pretty strong event and has some fights that could have serious repercussions in several different divisions. The welterweight interim title bout between Mohammad Fakhreddine and Aniss Al Hajjajy which was set for co-main event will now headline Desert Force 23 following Mohammad Karaki’s latest injury news. Karaki was set to defend his title for the first time in the main-event against Yacine Bandoui.
The welterweight fight between Mohammad Ghorabi and Julien Piednoir has moved up the main card into the co-feature spot. Ghorabi is facing Julien Piednoir after his initial opponent Ange Lossa sustained an injury that forced him out of the event. The Desert Force 23 card went through many iterations, as Paolo Enrique was first assigned to face Ghorabi as a replacement for Lossa.
Also on the live card, Tarek Suleiman will face Yacine Bandoui. Suleiman was initially set to face Mohammad Sayyah, and Bandoui was set to face Mohammad Karaki, before both of Sayyah and Karaki Sustained injuries.
The Desert Force 23 live card as it was first announced had featured a fight between Jarrah Al Selawi and Julien Piednoir. Only 9 days before the event, the promotion announced on their official Facebook page that Al Selawi got injured during training as well!
UPDATED ( Al Academiya season three welterweight title holder Ahmed Labban will take on Otham Najae in his first appearance after winning the shield. This fight will be the first fight aired on MBC Action live card.
Desert Force 23 takes place at the Ghazir Stadium in Lebanon on Monday May 30, 2016. The main-card will air live on MBC Action following the preliminary bouts.
The new Desert Force 23 lineup now includes:
- Mohammad Fakhreddine Vs Aniss Alhajjajy ( Main Event )
- Mohammad Ghorabi Vs Julien Piednoir
- Tarek Suleiman Vs Yacine Bandoui
- Ahmed Labban Vs Othman Najei
- Yousef Wehbe Vs Tareq Hamdi
- Jalal Al Daaja Vs TBA
- Youness Mikkiss Vs Ahmed Amir
- Dib Akl Vs Kassem Al Khatib
- Tareq Hani Vs Shaker Merii
- Ali Choucair Vs Hadi Riman
- Ibrahim Bitar Vs Elio Makhoul
- Walid Wadi Vs Mohammed Sheaito
Oh i feel sorry for mohammed ghorabi hes gonna live his first nightmare
Yacine will play against sawi not tarek sulieman
Where is the weigh in ??