Emirati fighter wins jiu-jitsu championship, redeems himself from heartbreaking loss

National Jiu-Jitsu athlete and Al Wahda Club’s Omar Al Suwaidi is on a roll. Riding the high of his gold medal-winning exploits at the Abu Dhabi Grand Slam Rio de Janeiro last month, the 21-year-old won the championship tournament of the fifth Abu Dhabi Extreme Championship (ADXC5).

About six months after losing a tight technical bout to Scottish opponent Shay Montague in a split decision verdict during his debut at the second ADXC (ADXC2), Omar redeemed himself and got a championship win under his belt on Friday night.

In the Jiu-Jitsu flyweight category of ADXC5 prelims at the Mubadala Arena, Omar – the only Emirati male on the card – bagged a unanimous decision victory with an authoritative performance against American fighter Samuel Marquez.

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Aggressive from the word go, Omar was all over Samuel, never letting him settle down. Though the American athlete maintained a dangerous guard, Omar worked his way to break through his defence.

“He gave me a tough fight. But I could neutralise his defence. I am happy to win this time,” Omar told Khaleej Times after the victory in front of a jubilant home crowd, including his family and friends.

Despite winning this tournament, the Abu Dhabi-based fighter still thinks about his loss at ADXC2.

“I was aggressive at ADXC2. I focused mainly on takedowns and not on submissions. When I got an opportunity in ADXC5, I changed my strategy,” said Omar, who worked on his submission moves and trained in camp under the guidance of his coach Gabriel Figueiro and brother Mohamed Al Suwaidi – the first Emirati fighter to win at ADXC.

“I came determined to push myself to the limits. Last time at ADXC2, I was tired by the last round, but this edition, I was determined to keep pushing for the win. I worked hard for the past two months. I won with a foot lock and a back choke submission move. I feel happy to do this for my country,” said Omar, flanked by his coach and brother.

Coach Figueiro noted it was a perfect performance by his student.

“We knew the opponent had a dangerous arm bar and choke. Last time at the ADXC2, we made some mistakes with our strategy and aggressiveness. This time, we fixed those issues and looked more for the submissions, and Omar did great. Today, it was a perfect performance,” Figueiro underlined as ADXC5 concluded with a successful night of a 14-match stacked card, including Emirati girl Balqees Al Hashmi’s first win inside the steel cage.

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