Abdul Hussein eyes UAE Warriors title after first-round stoppage of Sami Yahia
Abdul Hussein landed three high knees followed up with a left hook to send Sami Yahia crashing to the canvas in the main event of Thursday's UAE Warriors Arabia versus Africa fight card.
Referee Marc Goddard stopped the bantamweight contest to prevent Yahia from suffering further punishment three minutes and 44 seconds into the first round, resulting in a TKO verdict for Hussein.
As soon as Hussein ended the contest, he grabbed a mobile phone from one of his cornermen that had Dana White's photo displayed on the lock-screen, a clear signal that Hussein believes the UFC president should take note of his talent.
With that result, the Palestinian also extended his record in the UAE Warriors to 4-0 and 13-2 overall in mixed martial arts, including 11 wins without going the distance.
'I think I did pretty good, going on the offensive from the start and completing the job in round one,' Hussein said after making short work of his France-based Algerian opponent at the Space 42 Arena in Abu Dhabi.
'After this result, I would expect the Abu Dhabi promotion to consider me for a title shot. Also, I really think the MMA world is taking note of my potential and the results and looking forward to hearing from them as well.'
In the co-main middleweight contest, Diego Bandu bounced back from his debut defeat in UAE Warriors with a second-round stoppage of Islem Masraf.
The South African landed elbow blows and punches for a TKO in four minutes and 15 seconds of the second round.
Abdulla Al Bousheiri was the most impressive on the night, stopping South African Cole Henning, who filled in for the injured Congolese Anicet Kanyeba, with a spectacular triangle armbar four minutes and 34 seconds into the first round.
A regular in the UAE Warriors, the Kuwaiti completed his third successive win in the promotion and took his overall record to 13-5.
'I love to compete in Abu Dhabi where I have a lot of friends and fans. I have been competing in the UAE Warriors for nearly six years and proud to represent the Gulf,' he said.
'The Arabia versus Africa card is unique which no other promotion has done. It provides the fighters from the continent a great platform and the opportunity to take their game to the next level.
'For me, I want to compete in the UAE Warriors as long as possible. I'm very happy with whatever match-up the promotion has offered me and as always, looking forward to my next appearance in Abu Dhabi.'
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