Mohamed Ghorabi and Azz Dine Belharch will go to war on January 27 at Desert Force on MBC Action, in a fight that will possibly decide the next contender to Anis AlHajjajy‘s Lightweight title. Both fighters will look to snatch the “Al Academia” title and earn a contract with Desert Force along with all the benefits that come with that.
So lets take a look at the breakdown of their credentials/style to see how they match up:
Submission grappling
Belharch is a BJJ purple belt and will certainly have the ground experience factor going for him as he has competed in many BJJ tourneys and won for his efforts. On the other hand Ghorabi’s credentials in BJJ are almost none, yet since his first fight in Desert Force his ground game has been significantly improving as he trains with teammate Mhammad Karaki who is a purple belt under Moroccan black belt Hicham Hakam.
This is MMA though, not a grappling tournament! Belharch showed skills on the ground in his appearance at “Al Academiya” TV Show yet Ghorabi’s aggression off his back was also a big part of his gameplan.
I am going to give Belharch an edge at 70/30
Striking
Both guys have excellent striking abilities; Ghorabi is a black belt in Kyokushin Karate and trains Muay Thai out of the notorious Shogun Gym. Belharch has refined his striking skills in Spain and showed that he is able to knockout people in seconds. Yet in the power department Ghorabi also showed his KO abilities in his victory over all his opponents.
Ghorabi has scored five career KO/TKO in recent years. He may still be the more studied fighter, Yet Belhrach has the more fitting style of MMA striking. I’m going to give ‘The Killer’ a slight edge at 60/40
This is a very close fight on paper, and one that has me very intrigued.
Stay tuned for more on Desert Force “Al Academiya” on ArabsMMA.com
