Packed house at Desert Force last Friday: "It was like a soccer game", said promoter Zaid Mirza vibrantly. Publicity photo.

Another chapter of the Middle Eastern event Desert Force was held in Jordan this Friday, with Brazil’s Jorge “Michelan” Bezerra taking on tough Dutchman Djamil Chan. Michelan put on a Jiu-Jitsu clinic when he pulled guard, swept and finished his opponent with a tight armbar.

“I was called on at the last minute to substitute Pedro Galiza, who got injured while in Brasilia, and I went for it,” said the Léo Vieira student already with 20 MMA fights under his belt.

The objective behind Desert Force is to scout new MMA heroes for the populations of Arab countries and their descendents. This latest event showed clear signs the promoters are on the right path, as the fights were high level, not to mention dramatic.

The most heavily anticipated fight of the night was between Jordan’s Hashem Arkhagha and Egypt’s Mahmoud Salama. The favoritism enjoyed by the Jordanian almost fell by the wayside at the hands of the Egyptian athlete. However, early in the second round Hashem scored a takedown, moved to mount and finished up with an armbar, to then rush to the arms of the delirious fans.

Another Brazilian who has been carving out a place for himself in the Middle Eastern MMA scene is Gabriel Tayeh, a brown belt from Sul Jiu-Jitsu of Palestinian parentage, who faced the Frenchman of Tunisian origins Bechir Majri. Gabriel dominated the first round by taking Bechir down repeatedly, but the Tunisian was up to speed with his defenses and landed a spot-on knee as the Brazilian was shooting for a takedown, causing the referee to step in.

And there are two more Arabs who put in solid appearances and are ready to be launched into the international scenes are now the light heavyweight finalists: Syria’s Khalid Walid, and Tunisia-Holland transplant Sami Antar.

Desert Force Championship
Amman, Jordan Ortodox Club, Amman, Jordan
March 30, 2012

Haider Rasheed (Jordan) defeated. Bilel Missaoui (Lebanon) via decision – 70kg (lightweight)
Mohamad Arti (Kuwait) defeated Mahmoud Saeed (Egypt) via submission – 70kg (lightweight)
Ibrahim Elmgharbel (Lebanon) defeated via technical knockout Ammar Tchalabi (Saudi Arabia) – 77kg (welterweight)
Bechir Majri (Tunisia) knocked out Gabriel Tayeh(Palestine) – 77kg (welterweight)
Ibrahim Sawi (Egypt) knocked out Mohamad Abu Naim (Palestine) – 84kg (middleweight)
Hashem Arkhagha (Jordan) subbed Mahmoud Salama (Egypt) – 84kg (middleweight)
Khalid Walid (Syria) TKOd Mahmoud El Sayed (Egypt) – 93kg (light heavyweight)
Sami Antar (Tunisia) subbed Mohamad Abdelazim (Egypt) – 93kg (light heavyweight)
Jorge Bezerra (Brazil) subbed Djamil Chan (Holland) – 84kg (middleweight)

Casa cheia no Desert Force, sexta-feira: "Parecia jogo de futebol", vibrou o promotor, Zaid Mirza. Foto: Divulgação.

O evento árabe Desert Force que ocorreu na última sexta-feira, na Jordânia, teve o brasileiro Jorge “Michelan” Bezerra enfrentando o duro holandês Djamil Chan. Michelan deu uma aula de Jiu-Jitsu ao puxar o adversário para a guarda, raspá-lo e finalizar num justo armlock.

“Fui chamado na última hora pra substituir o Pedro Galiza, que se contundiu em Brasília, e caí pra dentro”, vibrou o paulista aluno de Léo Vieira, já com 20 lutas de MMA nas costas.

O Desert Force manteve o objetivo de buscar novos ídolos no MMA entre a população dos países árabes e descendentes dos mesmos. O evento deu sinais de estar trilhando o caminho correto, pois as lutas foram de alto nível, para não dizer dramáticas.

A luta mais esperada da noite foi entre o jordaniano Hashem Arkhagha e o egípcio Mahmoud Salama. O favoritismo do jordaniano quase sucumbiu diante da garra do atleta do Egito. Porém, no início do segundo round, Hashem botou para baixo, montou e finalizou no braço para quase desmaiar nos braços da torcida.

Outro brasileiro que vinha se destacando, mas dentro do evento árabe por ser descendente de palestinos é o faixa-marrom da Sul Jiu-Jitsu Gabriel Tayeh, que enfrentou o francês de origem tunisiana Bechir Majri.  Gabriel dominou o primeiro round botando Bechir várias vezes pra baixo, porém o tunisiano mostrou um bom bloqueio e aproveitou o segundo round para aplicar uma certeira joelhada quando o brasileiro tentava um single-leg, levando o árbitro a interromper o combate.

Outros dois árabes que fizeram boas apresentações e podem ser lançados no cenário internacional são  os agora finalistas da categoria até 92kg, o sírio Khalid Walid e o tunisiano radicado na Holanda Sami Antar. Veja os resultados completos.

Desert Force Championship

Amann Jordan Ortodox Club, Amam, Jordânia

30 de março de 2012

Haider Rasheed (JORDANIA) VENCEU POR DECISÃO DOS JUÍZES. Bilel Missaoui (LIBANO) – 70kg

Mohamad Arti (KUWAIT) VENCEU POR FINALIZAÇÃO Mahmoud Saeed (EGITO) – 70kg

Ibrahim Elmgharbel (LIBANO) VENCEU POR NOCAUTE TÉCNICO Ammar Tchalabi (ARABIA SAUDITA) – 77kg

Bechir Majri (TUNISIA) VENCEU POR NOCAUTE TÉCNICO Gabriel Tayeh(PALESTINA) – 77kg

Ibrahim Sawi (EGITO) VENCEU POR NOCAUTE Mohamad Abu Naim (PALESTINA)- 84kgs

Hashem Arkhagha (JORDANIA) VENCEU POR FINALIZAÇÃO Mahmoud Salama (EGITO) – 84kgs

Khalid Walid (SYRIA) VENCEU POR NOCAUTE TECNICO Mahmoud El Sayed (EGITO) – 93kgs

Sami Antar (TUNISIA) VENCEU POR FINALIZAÇÃO. Mohamad Abdelazim (EGITO) – 93kgs

Jorge Bezerra (BRASIL) VENCEU POR FINALIZAÇÃOs Djamil Chan (HOLANDA) – 84kgs

With marked technical supremacy from the Jiu-Jitsu stylists in the Middle Eastern tournament, practically all the fights ended by first-round submission.

One of four armbars on the night / Photos: Abed Arslan

The fighters put on brave displays of aggressive combat, to the delight of the crowd in attendance.

The only blemish on the night for Jiu-Jitsu came in the right hook from Russia’s Baga Agaev that put out black belt Francimar “Bodão” Barroso’s lights in the first round.

Francimar "Bodão" starts the action off with kicks.

Agaev, who came into the fight riding a win over Kevin Randelman, was wary of Bodão at the start of the first round after taking two powerful kicks to the leg, but launched an onslaught on the Brazilian the first chance he got, connecting a concussive right hook to Bodão’s chin.

Agaev's joy and Bodão's dejection

Check out the results:

Desert Force 2
Amman, Jordan
May 20, 2011

Elias El Rayess (Lebanon) defeated Mahmoud Saeed (Egypt) via doctor’s intervention between rounds one and two;
Ghaleb Al Harasheh (Jordan) defeated Zakaria Ahmad (Lebanon) via first-round armbar;
Adbullah Nabas (Jordan) defeated Issa Issa (Egypt) via first-round rear-naked choke;
Salem Rassol (Iraq) defeated Ehab Rassol (Iraq) via first-round armbar;
Ammar Tchalabi (Saudi Arabia) defeated Moahamad Al Dawansy (Egypt) via first-round armbar;
Ibrahim el Sawy (Egypt) defeated Ben Hassine Aymen (Tunisia) via second-round desistance;
Mousa Nemat (Jordan) defeated Mohamad El Sayed (Egypt) via referee stoppage;
Tamer Frehat (Jordan) defeated Murtada Star ( Iraq) via first-round armbar;
Vener Galiev (Russia) defeated Ian Jones (United Kingdom) via desistance;
Baga Agaev (Russia) defeated Francimar Barroso (Brasil) via first-round knockout.