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The National
22-07-2025
- Sport
- The National
James Llontop eyes UAE Warriors welterweight title and eventual UFC return
UAE Warriors swings into action this week, just days before UFC Fight Night returns to Abu Dhabi. The capital promotion is back with a double-header over two nights at Space42 Arena in Al Raha that includes Jordanian fighter Ali Al Qaisi lining up a record third title. On Wednesday's UAE Warriors 61 card, former featherweight title-holder Al Qaisi tackles bantamweight champion Sylvester Chipfumbo of Zimbabwe for the inaugural intercontinental featherweight belt. In Thursday's UAE Warriors 62, Khotam Boynazarov defends his welterweight title against promotion debutant James Llontop from Peru. Llontop, 25, was released by UFC after three defeats but has bounced back since then with back-to-back victories in the Fusion Fight Championship. He overcame Brazilian Yuri Neles by unanimous decision in his first fight since being released by the UFC before registering a second-round TKO against Argentina's Dante Romero to win the FFC welterweight title. Now Llontop, who holds a 16-5 mixed martial arts record, is looking to continue that momentum by claiming another strap that he hopes will one day lead to a recall to the UFC. 'I'm happy with the opportunity to fight for another title for a new promotion and a first appearance in Abu Dhabi,' Llontop told The National through a translator on the sidelines of the pre-fight presser at the Palms Sports headquarters. 'I'm prepared to fight for any promotion around the world. In the UAE Warriors, in One Championship, in the PFL, but my real motivation is to go back to UFC and perhaps fight for a title. 'Competing in the UFC was one of the best experiences in my life. It really made me a more mature athlete and fighter, and now I'm more than ready for new challenges. 'Of course, I was sad when I was released by UFC. It taught me a lot of things, and that's the way it works in a professional set-up. I accept that decision from the organisation.' Boynazarov presents a formidable obstacle to Llontop's ambitions. The Uzbek is undefeated in 10 fights and is riding high after claiming a unanimous decision over Tahir Abdullaev last October to claim the UAE Warriors welterweight title. 'It's a really tough fight for both of us. He's going to try to use his grappling, I'm trying to use my striking,' Llontop said of the champion. 'The one that performs the best in the first moment is going to be the one who would get into the rhythm of the fight.' Llontop first started training in combat sports age 10 with dreams of one day fighting for the world's lead MMA promotion, the UFC. He began as an amateur 10 years ago, and made up his mind he would pursue a career as a fighter full-time. 'I finished high school and had made up my mind to become a pro fighter. I didn't pursue anything else other than training MMA.' Llontop is married and has a four-year-old son whose name (Tadeo) is tattooed on his forehead over his right eye. A stable home life helps keep him grounded, he says. 'I spend most of my free time with my son and wife, my sisters, mum and dad,' he said. 'Peru is known for its food, so we like to go eat and sometimes go to the cinema, nothing spectacular.' Llontop arrived in Abu Dhabi on Sunday night. 'The weather is really hot," he joked, "but we're used to extreme things back in Peru." Llontop says he plans to stay in Abu Dhabi for Saturday's UFC Fight Night, backing Reinier de Ridder to come out on top against the former UFC middleweight champion Robert Whittaker. 'It will be a really good fight, but I think RDR appears to have the edge. He's in great shape and form.'
Al Etihad
14-05-2025
- Business
- Al Etihad
Abu Dhabi real estate market builds growth across the board
15 May 2025 00:21 MAYS IBRAHIM (ABU DHABI)Abu Dhabi's real estate market recorded steady and broad-based growth in the first quarter of 2025, with gains across residential, office, retail and hospitality segments, according to ValuStrat's latest market ValuStrat Price Index (VPI) for the residential sector rose 2.1% quarter-on-quarter (QoQ) and 7.2% year-on-year (YoY) to reach 125.6 points, based on a baseline of 100 in Q1 outperformed apartments, appreciating 2.7% QoQ and 9.7% YoY to 134.7 points. Apartment prices rose 1.5% QoQ and 4.5% YoY to 116.9 average home value in Abu Dhabi reached Dh10,226 per square metre, with apartments averaging Dh10,979 per m2 and villas Dh8,407 per villa submarkets, Saadiyat Island led annual capital gains for villas, up 21.2%, followed by Al Raha 8.2% and Mohammed Bin Zayed City 4.7%.Rental values mirrored sales performance, with the residential rental VPI rising 2.2% QoQ and 9% YoY to 121 rents grew 3.4% QoQ and 11.6% YoY, while villa rents remained flat quarterly but were up 6.3% annually. The average gross rental yield stood at 7.8%, with apartments yielding 8.3% and villas 6.7%.The average annual apartment asking rents in Abu Dhabi City hit Dh114,000. Studio apartments averaged Dh63,000; one-beds Dh89,000; two-beds Dh125,000; and three-beds Dh180, Reef (3.4%), Al Bandar (2.8%), and Al Muneera (2.5%) saw the highest quarterly rental increases. Market Activity and SupplyThe first quarter saw the handover of 90 apartments and 189 villas, representing 2% of the expected 2025 residential pipeline of 13,941 units. Major projects progressed across Saadiyat Island, Zayed City, Ghantoot and Masdar City, reflecting developer off-plan sales slowed due to fewer new launches, average prices and transaction values rose, according to the property transaction volumes dipped 33.6% QoQ but climbed 13.6% YoY. The average price for ready homes reached Dh12,335 per m2, up 5.8% YoY, while the average transaction size surged 28.9% QoQ to Dh 2.6 transactions dominated activity, accounting for 2,846 deals totalling Dh9 billion, compared to 1,375 cash transactions worth Dh5 billion. Strong Gains Across Property SegmentsAbu Dhabi's office market remained resilient amid high occupancy and rental growth. Asking prices for office units climbed 6% QoQ to Dh2.25 million, while rents in core commercial districts jumped 8% QoQ and 31.8% YoY. Occupancy in these areas reached 90.5%. The city's total office supply stood at 3.9 million m2 of Gross Leasable Area (GLA).Key additions this year include the HB Office Tower on Yas Island and Masdar City Square, the latter set to contribute 50,000 m2 of new space in Q2 continued to benefit from strong footfall and tenant sales. In Q1 2025, shopping centre stock totalled 1.95 million m2 of GLA in UAE's e-commerce market is forecast to surpass Dh48.5 billion by 2028, with online sales expected to make up 15.3% of the total retail hospitality sector posted impressive growth, buoyed by tourism, the report occupancy in Abu Dhabi averaged 86.9% in the first two months of 2025, a 1.2% increase YoY. The city welcomed 800,000 hotel guests by February, with 5.2 million visitors in total during 2024 – a 28.7% annual average room rate rose 37.1% to Dh683, and revenue per available room (RevPAR) jumped 38.7% to Department of Culture and Tourism expects total hotel supply to exceed 50,000 keys by 2030, up from 34,372 in February 2025. Upcoming additions include the Mondrian Hotel in Downtown Abu Dhabi and the Waldorf Astoria, set to open at the former Anantara Eastern Mangroves site, offering 167 rooms with views of Mangrove National Park.
