The last episode of Al Batal featured the most intense lightweight bout so far, pitting Team Elbe’s Tariq Ismail against Baghdad’s Abdelali Hariri.
After three consecutive wins for Team Baghdad, it was Tariq’s moment to avenge for his team.
Hariri enters the fight holding a 2-1 pro record with both his wins ending via knockout making him a big threat to Team Elbe, yet Tariq could not let this slip!
After a lot of back and forth between the two, Tariq manages to earn the judges’ decision. Coach Elbe could not but commend Tariq for his hard work by promoting him to blue belt right after the fight.
Ray Elbe to ArabsMMA:
“Tariq has been training at some of the top camps in Canada, and we’ve known each other for a few years from training in Thailand. When Al Batal first started looking for Arab talent I called him for the show. With filming Al Batal we finally got a chance to train together twice a day everyday for almost 2 months, and there is no way this guy is a white belt in grappling. I felt it was important to recognize him for his skills, and all the work we put into him to prepare him for the Al Batal finale”
Well deserved Tariq!
