I’ll be honest, seeing Elias before the fight in the hotel I was not sure he was in the right frame of mind to get into the cage. He seemed a bit concerned that he might be lacking in cardio against Metlouti and that the Morrocan might outpace him. “But I cant lose this one man, I have to win it” he had told Zahi and myself … somewhat prophetically! Elias of course didn’t allow cardio to become an issue by finishing the fight in the 1st round.
Elias came out and tried to keep the boxer at distance by opening with low kicks and as soon as Metlouti threw his right hand Elias saw the opening and dove in for the takedown where he would gain an advantage. Both fighters traded short elbows and punches on the whilst jostling for position. Elias eventually dragged the Moroccan towards the cage where he could posture up and unfurl a barrage of ground and pound switching quickly to side control where he continued dropping bombs and elbows. The Moroccan was defending himself albeit was offering no offense nor attempting to better his position forcing Yves Lavigne to stop the fight and award Elias the TKO.
Better watch out!!! Another new force from Team Shogun is back, outstriking his opponent and finishing his fight in the first half of the opening stanza!
Desert Force “Vs the World” Recaps
- Elias Baaklini VS Rachid Metlouti
- Abdulali Aityachou VS Christopher Silva
- Noureldin Isam VS Ahmad Darmaki
- Ahmed Amir VS Hamza Nafush
- Abdulrahman Awadi VS Ahmad al Boussairy
- Rafat Shawe VS Majed Sadeeq
- Victor Monfront VS Georges Eid
- Abdulmalek Mardhi VS Sultan Ali Owais
- Ramadan Numan VS Aziz Julaidan
- Tarek Suleiman VS Abdullah Medjdoub
- Anas Siraj Mounir VS Ali Ahli