Bahrain and Israel to Cooperate on MMA Event in Tel Aviv
A one-time event will be conducted in Tel Aviv by an MMA promotion based in Manama and owned by Sheikh Khalid bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the prince of Bahrain.
The event will see Israeli and Bahraini fighters go up against mixed martial artists hailing from different parts of the world.
The event
Haim Gozali, the leading MMA fighter in Israel, organized the event, which will be held under the tagline of ‘Fighting for Peace’.
Gozali himself will participate in the battles that take place in the ring, as will seven other fighters from Israel and a number of fighters from Bahrain.
The event will take place on March 3rd, 2023 at the Menora Mivtachim Arena in Tel Aviv and it will be held by Middle East’s top MMA promotion named BRAVE Combat.
As far as attendance is concerned, around 12,000 MMA-enthusiasts from Bahrain, Israel and other parts of the world are expected to come.
The peace squad
The producers of the event have dubbed the squad of Israeli and Bahraini fighters as the ‘peace squad’. According to the producers, they established this squad for dealing with the situation between the Arabs and the Jews, which has become ‘challenging’.
They said that this would help them in showing the world that regardless of your sexual orientation, nationality and faith, sports function as an international language.
The statement further said that if they wanted to, they could live harmoniously together. The sporting event was inspired by the Abraham Accords that had been brokered by the Trump administration.
Benjamin Netanyahu, the incoming Prime Minister, also said that sports help in connecting people and this event would be helpful in strengthening the relationship between Israel and Bahrain.
The universal language
49 year old Gozali had participated in the National Day Celebration of Bahrain last week, which had been conducted in Tel Aviv at the Bahraini embassy.
The MMA fighter had also had a meeting with Khaled Youssef Ahmed Al Jalahma, Bahrain’s ambassador to Israel.
The two talked about the cooperation planned between the two countries in regard to mixed martial arts.
Talking about the Bahraini ambassador, Gozali said that they had discussed the role of sports as a national language and were looking forward to the MMA event.
He also said that MMA is enjoying a lot of popularity because it had millions of fans all around the world. He also stated that this particular sport was no longer ‘for the crazies’ niche.
He went on to say that the last couple of years had made it clear that the Israeli audience wanted to see an event like the upcoming one because the others had been quite the success.
Launched in 2016, the BRAVE Combat Federation is the biggest Mixed Martial Arts firm, which is operating from the Middle East.
Fighters from all over the globe are part of the company. Its owner is the fourth son of Bahrain’s king and he is also expected to be in attendance at the event in Tel Aviv.
