Trevor Peek ‘has a tough fight in front of him and I’m coming for the kill,’ says UAE’s mixed martial arts warrior

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Updated 24 September 2023
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Trevor Peek ‘has a tough fight in front of him and I’m coming for the kill,’ says UAE’s mixed martial arts warrior

  • Mohammad Yahya will make his UFC bow against Peek on Oct. 21 at Abu Dhabi’s Etihad Arena
  • Yahya believes the home court advantage will tip the odds in his favor

A month out from his historic debut in the UFC next month, UAE’s Mohammad Yahya is already talking a big game.

The first fighter from the Emirates, and the Gulf region, to sign with the world’s leading MMA promotion, Yahya will make his UFC bow against Trevor Peek on Oct. 21 at Abu Dhabi’s Etihad Arena.

Peek may have experience on his side given it will be his third UFC outing, but Yahya believes the home court advantage will tip the odds in his favor.

“He has one win, one loss in the UFC. But he’s coming to my turf, he’s coming to my land, so he’s the one who’s going to be nervous,” Yahya told Arab News in an interview.

“I’ve fought in Etihad Arena, I defended my belt there, three, four times. That arena is basically my home. So he’s coming to fight me there, he’s the one who needs to be nervous and he has a tough fight in front of him and I’m coming for the kill.”

Yahya’s words sound all the more convincing when you realize that they are accompanied by a soft-spoken voice and an ice-cold demeanor.

The 29-year-old has indeed defended his UAE Warriors Arabia lightweight championship title on three occasions at Abu Dhabi’s state-of-the-art indoor arena, most recently last February, and enters his clash with Peek at UFC 294 carrying a five-fight winning streak.

Based in Dubai and training out of TK MMA Fit gym in Media City, Yahya first fell in love with mixed martial arts at the age of 14, watching it on television with his brother and cousins.

“My brother said it’s kind of like WWE, but they actually fight. I was shocked that they were actually hitting each other for real and they’re fighting,” Yahya said.

“And then over the years we just kept following the UFC, watching the events and then the Ultimate Fighter came out, I watched a few of their seasons.

“I wanted to find somewhere to train in the UAE but there weren’t that many gyms, so I ended up finding some kung fu gym and trained there; ended up loving it and had my first fight and just loved it and kept on doing it.”

Yahya began his career in Tam Khan’s Dubai Fighting Championship in 2012 before joining regional promotion Desert Force. He signed a multi-fight deal with Bellator in 2017 then made his way to UAE Warriors two years later.

It has admittedly been a long road, but Yahya insists that he always knew the day would come where he would step into the octagon on the sport’s grandest stage.

“Honestly from a very young age, I always knew I would (make it to the UFC). I stood out and I always put the training in,” he said.

“I think anyone can achieve their dreams with a lot of hard work and determination. And obviously we are in the land of opportunities, the fight capital of Abu Dhabi.

“I had a feeling that I was going to be on this card for maybe about a year. I knew UFC came last year. And then I said, ‘OK, maybe I’ll get on next one’. Then I see the poster and I just felt like I would be on this event and I finally got the opportunity.”

Yahya has had the support of his parents from the start and says that they were particularly pleased with how it introduced discipline to his life “in a different way” during his teen years.

“I was doing better in school, I wasn’t getting in trouble and they could see how dedicated I was to the sport. Now they’re super proud of me that I’m in the UFC,” he said.

“It’s called mixed martial arts, it’s an art. And some people love to express their feelings in what they do and how they perform. So it might look like a crazy sport to some people, and violent, but it’s basically our way of expressing ourselves to people.”

Yahya comes off as an exceptionally calm person, and he says that it is an attribute he relies on heavily in the cage.

“I’m kind of calm in the cage, too. When I was younger, I was more energetic and more wild but now I feel like I’m just focused and I’m very wise and do what I need to do in the cage,” he said.

That level-headedness will come in handy as the hype continues to build up for UFC 294, which will be headlined by Islam Makhachev and Charles Oliveira, in a rematch of their UFC 280 bout in Abu Dhabi last year.

Yahya is well aware that being the first from the GCC region comes with great responsibility and this is something that he does not taking lightly.

“Obviously, I’m representing the whole nation, I’m representing my country as I’ve always done. I wouldn’t have accepted this opportunity if I wasn’t ready. I knew I can do this and I’m looking to make a lot of people proud on 21 October,” he said.

“My approach is as every fight, normally I’m very calm for the fight, I’m never nervous. Obviously, this is a whole different game, it’s the Ultimate Fighting Championship, so it’s the ultimate. And obviously there’s going to be 15,000 16,000 people there and observe. I think the last pay-per-view on this when Islam and Oliveira fought, it sold 50 million pay-per-views, or 40 million pay-per-views.

“No one wants to get knocked out in front of those people and lose. So I’m taking this fight very seriously. The pressure is obviously there but you have to overcome it, that’s what makes you different to other people, it’s how you deal with all that pressure.”


Nour Al-Fliti looking to hand Hattan Alsaif first MMA loss

Updated 17 sec ago
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Nour Al-Fliti looking to hand Hattan Alsaif first MMA loss

  • Rising Lebanese star will take on the unbeaten Saudi fighter at PFL MENA 2 in Riyadh this summer

RIYADH: One of Saudi Arabia’s biggest mixed martial arts stars, Hattan Alsaif, will make her highly anticipated return to the Professional Fighters League SmartCage at PFL MENA 2 in Riyadh on July 4.

And while all eyes will be on the hometown hero, who is aiming for her third straight amateur MMA win, a rising star from Lebanon is preparing to step into enemy territory and hoping to steal the spotlight.

Standing across from Alsaif will be Nour Al-Fliti, a multiple Lebanese MMA champion and International Mixed Martial Arts Federation Asian Championship silver medalist who currently holds a 1-1 amateur record.

Before MMA, however, Al-Fliti lived a completely different life.

“Before MMA, I worked in the hospitality field as an operations manager,” she revealed. “I studied that field and I worked in it since 2019. I enjoyed it, but I felt that something was missing. If I hadn’t found MMA, I think I’d still be searching for that something to ignite the fire in me.”

With MMA, Al-Fliti discovered the outlet she had been searching for. Judging by her growing list of accomplishments, it has been a successful transition.

“I got into MMA because I felt a powerful energy inside me — it was something I needed to express,” Al-Fliti said. “I’ve always had a fighter’s spirit, but I didn’t know where it belonged until I stepped into the cage.”

MMA provided more than just competition, she added: “From my very first fight, I felt a deep connection. It wasn’t just about competition … it was about purpose. That moment made me realize this is where I’m meant to be.”

Al-Fliti believes her greatest achievement in MMA goes beyond medals and accolades — it is the personal transformation she has undergone.

“My biggest achievement so far is finding myself through this sport,” she explained. “Every fight, every camp, every challenge has shaped me, not just as a fighter, but as a person. Of course, winning and improving technically are important, but the real win is the growth I’ve experienced mentally and spiritually.”

While she acknowledges the support of her team and loved ones, Al-Fliti is clear about where her ultimate source of strength lies.

“My biggest supporter is Allah first,” she exclaimed. “I truly believe that my path is written, and I draw strength from that.

“And I’m also deeply grateful to my family and my team — the people who believe in me, push me, and never let me forget who I am, even during the toughest moments.”

On paper, it may seem like Al-Fliti has the odds stacked against her. Alsaif has more experience and will be fighting in front of a home crowd. Al-Fliti, however, doesn’t see it that way.

“Hattan is a determined fighter with her own style, and I respect anyone who steps into the cage, but I never see myself as the underdog,” she said. “I trust in my preparation, in my skills and, most importantly, in my belief in myself and in Allah. I’ve prepared with focus, discipline and a clear mindset.”

On July 4, Al-Fliti does not plan to simply walk into the SmartCage — she will make her presence felt: “I’m not just showing up — I’m coming to make a statement, inshallah.”

Tickets for PFL MENA 2 can be purchased at webook.com.


Pakistan to face New Zealand in FIH Nations Cup final today

Updated 18 min 31 sec ago
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Pakistan to face New Zealand in FIH Nations Cup final today

  • Pakistan defeated France 3-2 on penalty shootouts in the semifinal
  • Pakistani goalkeeper Muneeb-ur-Rehman blocked three French chances

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan will face New Zealand today, Saturday, in the final of the Fédération Internationale de Hockey (FIH) Nations Cup in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Spirited Pakistan defeated France 3-2 on penalty shootouts to qualify for the Nations Cup final at the National Hockey Stadium on Friday.

Goalkeeper Muneeb-ur-Rehman blocked three French chances, while Rana Waheed Ashraf, Hannan Shahid and Afraz struck for Pakistan to clinch a highly-rewarding victory.

“Heartiest congratulations to our Green Shirts on reaching the Nations Cup final,” Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on X.

“The team turned the match around with courage, skill and determination — a proud moment for the entire nation.”

Hockey is Pakistan’s national sport. The national team boasts a proud legacy with three Olympic gold medals in 1960, 1968 and 1984, along with four World Cup titles in 1971, 1978, 1982 and 1994.

But the sport has faced a sharp decline in Pakistan in recent decades due to administrative challenges, underinvestment and inadequate infrastructure. Renewed efforts are underway to revive the game with increased

government support, youth development initiatives and greater international engagement aimed at restoring Pakistan’s former glory in the sport.

The winner of Saturday’s final will earn promotion to the elite FIH Hockey Pro League 2025–26 season.


Jeeno Thitikul extends lead to three at Women’s PGA

Updated 21 June 2025
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Jeeno Thitikul extends lead to three at Women’s PGA

  • The 22-year-old star from Thailand followed a first-round 68 with a 2-under par 70 on Friday to reach 6-under 138 at the Fields Ranch East course
  • Thitikul has five wins to her credit on the LPGA Tour and placed in the top 10 of seven majors

FRISCO, Texas: World No. 2 Jeeno Thitikul is halfway home to her first major victory, as she will take a three-shot lead into the weekend at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship in Frisco, Texas.

The 22-year-old star from Thailand followed a first-round 68 with a 2-under par 70 on Friday to reach 6-under 138 at the Fields Ranch East course at PGA Frisco.

She has a comfortable edge over Australia’s Minjee Lee, who shot even-par 72, and Japan’s Rio Takeda, who birdied her final hole (No. 9) and four of her last six for a 71.

Lexi Thompson also posted a 70 in the second round and holds fourth place at 2 under.

The course played even tougher than the day before, and only one player managed to break 70. England’s Charley Hull posted a 3-under 69 to move to 3 over and ensure she’ll make the cut after an opening-round 78 set her back.

Thitikul entered the day with a one-shot lead and spent most of her round hovering around even par. After beginning on the back nine, she had two birdies and two bogeys through 16 holes before a birdie-birdie finish. Thitikul made a 12 1/2-foot putt at the par-3 eighth before two-putting from 59 feet at the par-5 ninth.

Thitikul has five wins to her credit on the LPGA Tour and placed in the top 10 of seven majors. Now she will get to play from ahead and defend her lead in a high-pressure situation.

“I think it’s depend on the wind,” Thitikul said of the weekend to come. “If you can be committing with the wind you see and then calculating really good and putting yourself like tee-to-green really well and then making par, I think it’s good enough.”

Thompson had a bogey-free round nearly in the bag before stumbling at No. 18 when her approach found a bunker.

Thompson, 30, stopped competing full-time after 2024, but she is making her seventh start of 2025 and is in great form, having tied for fourth last week at the Meijer LPGA Classic.

“When I’m home I’m grinding and practicing and still working on my game,” Thompson said. “Any time I tee it up — even saying I was stepping away from a full-time schedule, any time I tee it up I want to come out here and compete and win.”

A win this weekend would give Thompson her second career major title, 11 years after her first.

The only American in red figures besides Thompson is Auston Kim, who shot 72 Friday and is tied for fifth at 1 under with South Korea’s Somi Lee (73) and Japan’s Chizato Iwai (72).

Kim would be a major upset story if she were to win on Sunday. She is ranked No. 98 in the world, has never won on tour and never finished better than tied for 30th at a major.

“My mindset today was just staying in it,” Kim said of her two-birdie, two-bogey round. “I didn’t really feel like I had hit any superhuman shots. I didn’t want to. I didn’t have to chop it out of the rough today like I did (Thursday). I think that’s just a testament to how smart I was playing.”

World No. 1 Nelly Korda turned in a 2-over 74 to slide to 2 over for the tournament, tied for 16th.

The projected cut line was 7 over par, meaning Rose Zhang (79 Friday) will squeak in on the number. Notable names to miss the cut included Allizen Corpuz (8 over), South Korea’s A Lim Kim (8 over), defending champion Amy Yang of South Korea (9 over) and two-time major winner Lilia Vu (9 over).

Former World No. 1 Jin Young Ko of South Korea withdrew due to illness. She was on track to miss the cut after an opening-round 74.


Scheffler in 3-way tie for lead at Travelers with Fleetwood and Thomas

Updated 21 June 2025
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Scheffler in 3-way tie for lead at Travelers with Fleetwood and Thomas

  • All it took was the fate of the wind, good or bad, to shape the leaderboard going into the weekend at the TPC River Highlands, with 12 players separated by four shots
  • The average score was 70.7, nearly two shots harder than the opening round

CROMWELL, Connecticut: Scottie Scheffler provided hope with a late double bogey. Tommy Fleetwood charged through with two eagles in three holes, and so did Justin Thomas with five straight birdies. They wound up tied for the lead on a blustery Friday at the Travelers Championship.

All it took was the fate of the wind, good or bad, to shape the leaderboard going into the weekend at the TPC River Highlands, with 12 players separated by four shots.

Scheffler was comfortably in front when the left-to-right wind his tee shot had been riding laid down, sending his ball into the fairway bunker on the par-4 17th. He put the next one in the water, barely reached the green with his fourth shot and made double bogey. He wound up with a 1-under 69.

Fleetwood felt the wind going right-to-left, then slightly hurting, then slightly helping on the par-5 13th. He had 240 yards to at least cover the water, 264 yards to the hole, and he felt his 9-wood would at least reach the green.

So much depended on the fickle wind that fooled so many players.

“I just sort of caught the right moment,” said Fleetwood, who also chipped in for eagle on the reachable 15th and shot 65. “Came off perfect and then beautiful putt.”

Thomas wished he could have hit the ball a little better off the tee, but he stayed out of trouble, stayed patient and cashed in on the back nine with his five straight birdies, two of them from the 25-foot range, that led to a 64.

They were at 9-under 131, one shot ahead of Jason Day (66).

Rory McIlroy was 3 over through four holes in gusts that topped 30 mph, at one point falling eight shots behind Scheffler, a daunting prospect. But he kept in the game, found hope when Scheffler dropped back to 9 under, and got a little luck on his own.

His second shot from a bunker on the 17th was so think that he took one hand off the club and waited for the worse, mainly a splash. It founded the water at such a low trajectory that it skipped out onto the fairway.

He failed to get up-and-down, taking bogey, but felt it could have been worse — the shot, and his position going into the weekend He batted for a 71, leaving him only four back.

“The conditions today definitely bunched the entire field together and should make for an exciting weekend,” McIlroy said

The conditions — mainly the wind strong that was blowing hats off of heads and sending unoccupied chairs tumbling away — was everything in the second round.

The average score was 70.7, nearly two shots harder than the opening round. It was the highest scoring average for a single round at the Travelers since the second round in 2017.

The toughest part for players was figuring out which way it was blowing. Scheffler experienced that on the 17th.

“The tee shot, I hit exactly the way I wanted to,” Scheffler said. “Somehow the wind either stops or goes back because the way my ball was flying it should have basically gotten to the middle of the fairway and I end up in the left bunker.

“Then I catch it a hair fat, and all of a sudden I’m dropping and hitting my fourth shot, and I hit the shot exactly the way we wanted to, and as the ball is flying, you get a gust into the wind, and all of a sudden the ball is not on the green,” he said. “You can’t get every one correct. You just do your best to manage your way around the golf course.”

Day had his own version of a hat trick on the front nine — three pars, three birdies, three bogeys — until hitting all the right shots for a 31 on the back to get in the hunt.

Denny McCarthy (64) and Austin Eckroat (71) were at 7-under 133, followed by Ryder Cup captain Keegan Bradley 70) and Nick Taylor (68).

Patrick Cantlay had a 68 with a double bogey on the par-5 13th and joined the large group at 135 that included McIlroy.

If the wind wasn’t bad enough, Luke Clanton showed remarkable patience in his second tournament as a pro. He had been playing with Jordan Spieth, who had to withdraw with soreness in his upper back on Thursday. Clanton was a single in the middle of the field, behind Scheffler and US Open champion J.J. Spaun, in front of Andrew Novak and Jacob Bridgeman.

He waited on every shot and did well to post a 72, leaving him in the middle of the pack.


Alcaraz extends winning streak, Draper into semifinals at Queen’s

Updated 21 June 2025
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Alcaraz extends winning streak, Draper into semifinals at Queen’s

  • Alcaraz, who won the Wimbledon warm-up event in 2023, will face Spanish compatriot Roberto Bautista Agut in Saturday’s semifinals
  • The 23-year-old had twice lost in the last eight at Queen’s, but now he is just two wins away from joining Andy Murray as only the second British champion at the tournament in the Open area

LONDON: Carlos Alcaraz was relieved to overcome the challenge of Arthur Rinderknech in straight sets to reach the semifinals at Queen’s Club and extend his career-best winning streak to 16 matches on Friday.

In his first tournament since winning the French Open in remarkable fashion against Jannik Sinner, the world No. 2 had been forced to come through a grueling three-set battle against Jaume Munar in Thursday’s second round.

But Alcaraz was ruthless with his opportunities against world No. 80 Rinderknech as the Spaniard took his only two break point chances for a 7-5, 6-4 win inside 90 minutes on court.

“I thought I was going to feel much worse, but we are tennis players, we have to do whatever we have to do to feel good,” said Alcaraz after his three-and-a-half-hour battle against Munar.

“I’m glad that today was one hour and 20 minutes, a bit more like grass.”

Alcaraz, who won the Wimbledon warm-up event in 2023, will face Spanish compatriot Roberto Bautista Agut in Saturday’s semifinals after he beat fourth seed Holger Rune 7-6 (7/5), 6-7 (4/7), 6-2.

“I’m feeling great, and I’m just happy to play at such a good level today. It was a big challenge today, but I’m happy with the way I played and felt today,” added Alcaraz.

Jack Draper, who ended Alcaraz’s defense at Queen’s last year, reached the semifinals for the first time and secured a top-four seed at Wimbledon with a tense 6-4, 5-7, 6-4 win over American Brandon Nakashima.

The 23-year-old had twice lost in the last eight at Queen’s, but now he is just two wins away from joining Andy Murray as only the second British champion at the tournament in the Open area.

Draper will move above Novak Djokovic and Taylor Fritz in the world rankings next week to a career-high of four.

That means at Wimbledon, which starts on June 30, Draper will avoid defending champion Alcaraz and world No. 1 Sinner until the semifinals.

“Last year I went there ranked 40th and now I’m fourth. To get to that position is an incredible feeling,” Draper said.

“It is testament to the work me and my team have done and I’m proud of that.”

Draper will face Jiri Lehecka in the last four on Saturday after the Czech world No. 30 beat beat British No. 2 Jacob Fearnley 7-5, 6-2.