Seasoned Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) fighter Tarek Suleiman (5-3) has been given the chance for redemption on the inaugural Phoenix Fighting Championship card. Suleiman will rematch Grigoriy Kichigin (7-5), the man who beat him at ACB 27 which took place in Tajikistan on December the 10th of last year. Their first fight ended in a unanimous decision victory for the Russian after a fairly one-sided grappling contest but how will this one be?
Suleiman will rematch Kichigin in what he calls home this time and on a seminal card which features both Muay Thai fights and MMA bouts.
The Muay Thai side will be headlined by Thai legend Buakaw Banchamek’s match against Andrei Kulebin, whist the MMA card will be topped by Davi Ramos and Nick Piedmont.
Phoenix CEO Chahe Yerevanian has yet another exciting MMA scrap featuring Suleiman and the man who defeated him on points in a freezing cold Dushanbe arena.
Suleiman promises to set the records straight when Kichigin makes the trip to Lebanon in December.
He said:
“This is a loss I have to avenge. For me, on that night (when Kichigin defeated him) I was freezing cold in that arena and I let it affect my performance. This time will be very different. I am going to make this right, and I’m going to beat him on my turf, in front of my friends and family.”
Suleiman is a veteran of Desert Force and has fought in Lebanon countless times before, giving him the hometown advantage in this fight.
In their previous fight in December, Suleiman was unable to stop the stifling Kichigan from landing his takedowns, time after time, as the Russian smothered him, took him down and lay on top of him.
Suleiman has a strong wrestling core and trains at Tiger Muay Thai in Thailand, honing his striking skills, but it was Kichigan who dominated the grappling in their last battle.
However the 26-year-old Syrian, who is a big name in the middle-east and has been on the cusp of some career defining fights, believes this fight will be his calling.
He added:
“With all due respect to Grigoriy, this fight will be nothing like the last fight, and I plan to dominate him in every aspect of MMA, finish him, then move on to some bigger fights.”
