Nawras Abzakh became the new UAE Warriors Arabia flyweight champion. However, his victory over Jonny Touma at UAE Warriors 37 was a controversial one.
Nawras Abzakh vs. Jonny Touma
At UAE Warriors 37 Abzakh entered a cage riding a three-fight winning streak. The Jordan fighter sported a 10 – 4 record that he stacked up also in Desert Force and Brave CF. Half of his wins came by the way of submission. He also has the sole TKO win to his name.
Touma is less experienced than his opponent and has only a 5 – 1 professional MMA record. The Lebanon fighter secured two submission wins. His three wins were awarded to him by the judges. His sole defeat was a TKO finish.
Nawras Abzakh vs. Jonny Touma: fight recap
Round 1
Touma took the center of the cage. However, due to a striking exchange, he was pushed outside and Abzakh found himself in the center. The two were exchanging blows throughout most of the round. At one point the Jordan fighter struck an accidental low blow to his opponent. This was an ominous sign of things to come. However, it wasn’t serious enough to force a mandatory 5-minute break.
Within the last minute of the round Abzakh took his opponent to the ground. After securing the top position he was able to lock a triangle choke. Despite his best efforts he couldn’t force Touma to tap out, so he switched to an armbar. Nothing came out of it and the first five minutes were up. Surprisingly, in the last seconds, Jonny Touma struck his opponent with a headbutt.
Round 2
Before the second outing began, the referee deducted a point for Touma’s headbutt. After some striking exchanges Abzakh, once again, successfully took Touma down to the ground. He even managed to take his back. Unfortunately for him, a rear-naked choke attempt ended without the expected result. Touma’s defense was good enough to allow him to escape the submission attempt and secure the top position in Abzakh’s guard.
What’s more, he was able to take his opponent’s back. This time around Abazkh successfully defended against any submission attempts.
Round 3
The third outing started with a few striking exchanges. Abzakh scored another takedown and found himself in the top position. The Jordanian fighter was able to switch freely from position to position. Finally, Touma struck him with two up kicks while Abzakh was over him on his knees. After some deliberation the referee decided to disqualify Touma, awarding victory and the belt to Abzakh.
Nawras Abzakh def. Jonny Touma via DQ at 2:43 of Round 3 and won the UAE Warriors Arabia flyweight title.
After the fight, the tension was still evident, and from the look of it, a potential rematch is bound to happen in the future.
After the order was restored in the arena the fans could switch their focus to a UAE Warriors Arab lightweight title fight.
