Princess Iman after training. Photo: Personal Files

Flattered by the news of his marriage to Jordan princess Iman bint Hussein on the homepage of GracieMag.com, the Jiu-Jitsu black belt Zaid Mirza sent us an exclusive shot of his wife after a Muay Thai training, a sport she has been practicing for two years.

According to Mirza, the princess has also been practicing Jiu-Jitsu for a year, which, according to our sources in Jordan, helped the couple become closer. The princess’ brothers, prince Hashim and prince Hamza are also supporters of the gentle art, and today are two tough blue belts.

Another discovery by GracieMag during the wedding ceremony held in March, in Jordan, is that one of the noble guests, sheikh Khaled Bin Hamad Al Khalifa, son of the king of Bahrain, also has private Jiu-Jitsu lessons in his own palace in the small emirate.

As it appears, more Arabian royal families are falling in love with Jiu-Jitsu.

The bride and groom (left) under the gaze of the pleased king (right).

It’s no news that Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu has earned its place in the Middle East.

The best example is perhaps the importance that the royal family of Abu Dhabi gives to the gentle art, having implanted Jiu-Jitsu in all schools of the nation’s capital.

But it’s not only in the UAE that the nobility recognizes the value of the sport. In March, the biggest representative of Jiu-Jitsu in Jordan has married the princess Iman Bint Hussein.

Zaid Mirza, Cassio Werneck’s black belt from Brasilia, got married to the princess after popularizing Jiu-Jitsu in that country.

Thanks to Mirza, now the entire army of this small but strategic kingdom trains Jiu-Jitsu.

The princess is the sister of king Abdullah, monarch who is a constant figure in the news and a key player in the peace process and stabilization policy in the troubled region.

As in tales, one of the king’s knights wins the princess’ heart at the end. It is life imitating fiction through Jiu-Jitsu.

Unfortunately, part of GRACIEMAG team invited to the cinematic wedding was unable to attend, but sends congratulations to the lovebirds. Be happy.

Desert Force Jordan

The recurring conflicts in the Arabic region are aside when it comes to MMA. And this is what shows the Desert Force, which took its seventh edition to Jordan, with the semifinals of the 66kg and 70kg division Grand Prix. The event was held on March 7.

In one of the up to 66kg semifinals, the Jordanian Ahmed Ansari faced his compatriot Abdul Kareem El Silwadi, who is only 17. El Siwadi punished Ansari’s legs for nearly three rounds, causing the judge to interrupt the combat halfway through the third round by TKO.

For the 77kg semifinals, the black belt of Sul Jiu-Jitsu, Gabriel Tayeh accepted the frank striking with the Egyptian frank Muay Thai champion, Amr Wahman, who cut Tayeh with a strong right above the eye. At the beginning of the second round, the Palestinian-Brazilian was all over, but when pressing the Egyptian against the grid he eventually was punched by a strong right, making the UFC referee, Ives Lavigne, stop the fight.

Another highlight was the fight between Muhammad Karaki and Abdelali Yachou in which Yachou punished the opponent over him, but as Jiu-Jitsu saves, Karaki did take a triangle out of his pocket and submitted the fight before being taken to the hospital.

Check out the results of the event:

Desert Combat 7
Jordan
March 7, 2013

Up to 66kg Semifinals:

Yousif Al Hamad(Kuwait) submitted Malick Quran (Jordan) in R1

Abdul Kareem El Silwadi (Jordan) won Ahmed Ansari (Jordan) by TKO in R3

Up to 70 kg Semifinals:

Haider Hashid (Jordan) won Mohamed Arti (Kuwait) by decision

Ahmed al Busari( Kuwait)  won Sylvester Saba (Lebanon) by decision

Up to 77 Kg Semifinals:

Amr Wahman(Egypt) won Gabriel Tayeh (Palestine) by TKO in R2

Aniss AL Hajjajy (Morroco) won Beschir Majri (Tunisia) by decision

Superfights:

Firas Saadeh  (Syria) won Amir Ismail (Egypt) by TKO in R1

Mohamad Fakhredine (Lebanon) knocked out Tareq Suleiman (Syria) in R1

Aziz Julaidan (Saudi Arabia) submitted Ahmed Daraki (UAE) in R1

Mohamed Karaki (Lebanon) submitted Abdelali Yachou(Morroco) in R1

Mohamed Ghorabi (Lebanon) knocked out Ibrahim Al Sawi (Egypt) in R1

Amaury Bitetti teaching a guard pass at a seminar in Recife (photo by Junior Samurai/GRACIEMAG.com)

The first two-time winner of the World Championship absolute division (1996/97), Amaury Bitetti just kicked off his worldwide seminar tour.

“I’m already in London with the black belt André Bottino, and this Saturday we started work at  Wilson Junior’s Carlson Gracie Academy. Next we’ll head to Munich, and after that we’ll do seminars in Paris, Florence and Livorno. After that we’re heading to Jordan and Egypt,” Amaury recounts.

In the following video, Bitetti teaches how to break a grip and get the takedown, a good option to start off a match, wouldn’t you say? Let us  know what you make of it.

Renato Babalu Sobral and Fabricio Werdum pose the a local NGO’s T-shirt. Photo by Mohamad Jehad/GRACIEMAG.

By Dão Tavares

Invited by Prince Hussein Mirza to watch the Desert Force event in Amman, Renato Babalu Sobral and Fabricio Werdum were a major hit with the crowd. There in Jordan’s capital, the two Jiu-Jitsu black belts were greatly receptive to the fans of the fastest growing sport in the world.

At the weigh-ins held at the recently inaugurated Tal Mall, it wasn’t just the crowd that wanted to get up close to the two MMA stars, but the fighters themselves, who did their all to get pictures with their idols.

The next day, minutes before the opening fight on the card got underway, Desert Force’s official presenter led a round of “Happy Birthday” for Babalu, who turned 37 that day and was in the front row watching the event alongside Werdum and members of the Jordanian royal family.

While some queried him about how close he is to retirement, according to the birthday boy, only after the Bellator light heavyweight GP will he even think about hanging up his gloves.

Now Werdum, who got laughs out of everyone from the hotel clerk to the prince, heaped praise on the Middle Eastern fighters who approached him for assessment: “I liked the fights. Most of the guys got the killer spirit,” he said.

Babalu and Werdum also expressed interest in returning to the region to pay a visit to some NGOs involved with helping child refugees that use combat sports to recover their self-esteem.

Stay tuned to GRACIEMAG.com for further information on Jordan’s Desert Force.

Abdallah Abou Hamdan (Lebanon) vs Karim Khalifa (Tunisia)

Ammar Tchalabi (Syria) vs Amr Wahman (Egypt)

Haidar Rasheed (Jordan) vs Bilel Missaoui (Tunisia).

Léo Santos returns to MMA with his slick Jiu Jitsu. Personal archive photo.

The owner of one of the finest Jiu-Jitsu guards at the turn of the century, the black belt Leonardo Santos (11w, 3l) added another superb win to his MMA record last Friday in Jordan at the latest Cage Warriors Fight Night event.

The Jiu-Jitsu professor from team Nova União showed he’s still got the pressure from top position, sticking a shoulder in the face of Mark “Boots” Host (10w, 4l) until mounting and dismounting with a fight-ending arm-and-neck choke in place.

Watch how he did it:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sm3qt3fxEIQ

Cage Warriors Fight Night 7
September 1, 2012
New Boxing Arena, Amman, Jordan

Chris Fields defeated Pavel Kusch via KO at 2:05 min of R3 (title fight);
Jim Alers submitted Marcio Cesar “Gracinha” via choke at 2:27 min of R2;
Leonardo Santos tapped out Mark Holst at 1:15 min of R1;
Mohsen Bahari defeated Piotr Ptasinski via unanimous judges’ decision;
Olivier Pastor defeated Liam James via guillotine at 3:21 min of R2;
James Brum defeated James Saville via unanimous decision;
Robert Krecicki defeated Mohamed Ali via decision;
Brett Bassett KOd Mike Ling at 0.38 min of R1;
Jay Furness defeated Artem Lobov via unanimous decision.

Desert Force looks set to move MMA up another step in popularity in the Middle East, thanks to TV. Photo by Khalid Walid Hassan.

In the midst of the current era of political turmoil, the Middle East will again be the stage for a major MMA event. With Amman, Jordan, hosting the event, countries that now and again flare up in armed conflict will get to see their representatives do battle in the Desert Force cage.

As previously reported here on GRACIEMAG.com, MBC Action, a Middle Eastern channel spanning 22 Arabic-speaking nations, will broadcast the event. The network has run a number of ads for the event ever since the end of the sacred Muslim month of Ramadan.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9VzNujmwfkQ

The lineup will feature an array of different accents. Making his debut in the sport, Mallick Quraan is the son of a Jordanian father and American mother. Born in the USA, he was raised in New Jersey and learned Portuguese from his capoeira teacher. Despite never having visited Brazil, he is fluent in the language. Also featuring at the Middle Eastern event is Gabriel Tayeh, a Brazilian of Palestinian parentage, who is doing his training camp at X-Gym in Rio de Janeiro. The Sul Jiu-Jitsu black belt from Porto Alegre commented on the opportunity:

“It’s a Middle Eastern tournament but half the fighters are of other origins. I feel that makes the event all the greater, because it brings experience and a different technical level from Brazil, the USA and Europe. The folks in the Middle East are really tough, so it’s a good mix.”

Aside from the fighters, there will be Jiu-Jitsu black belt coaches and assistants from Brazil—like Alex Negão Paz, who will be cornering Yahya Alhammadi—a head of security for a prince of Abu Dhabi—, as well as Francimar Bodão, who is training Jordan’s Haider Rashedd.

According to Zaid Abu-Soud, one of the promoters of the event, the central idea in putting on the show is the search for champion-caliber fighters from the region to launch at major shows with a worldwide scope in the near future: “The Arabic youth needs sporting heroes, and MMA can provide it for them.”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=expNr80R9Lk

Desert Force V – on MBC Action
Amman, Jordan
September 7, 2012

Mazen Alhindi (KSA) vs Ahmded Albousairi (KUW)
Noureldin Isam (SUD) vs Daniel Hilal (LIB)
Karim Khalifa (TUN) vs Abdullah Abou Hamdan (LIB)
Abdelali Mouira (MAR) vs Silvester Saba (LIB)
Mohamad Mashaly (EGI) vs Mallick”Rato” Quraan (JOR)
Tarek Suleiman (SIR) vs Mohammed Abu Naim (PAL)
Moh’d Ibrahim Elmgharbel (LIB) vs Bechir Majri (TUN)
Mahmoud El-Sayed (EGI) vs Yahya Alhammadi (EAU)
Rida Mourak (MAR) vs Gabriel Tayeh (PAL)
Amr Wahman (EGI) vs Ammar Tchalabi (KSA)
Bilel Missaoui (TUN) vs Haider Rasheed (JOR)

The leader of team Mirza BJJ in Jordan, Zaid Mirza promoted three of his students to black belt in Jiu-Jitsu.

Mohammed Bilbeisi, Zaid Abu Soud and Ashraf Shishani have been practicing the gentle art for 10 years, ever since Mirza returned to Amman. “These guys have been living Jiu-Jitsu for the last ten years. They’re directly involved with and responsible for the training of Jordan’s army and police force. I’m positive they’re going to spread the sport in the region,” explained the proud Zaid Mirza.

“Mohammed is 22 and the youngest fighter to make it to black belt in Middle Eastern history,” he added.

There were other black belts honored at the ceremony as well. Names that played a major part in the inroads the gentle art has been making in Jordan. Cassio Werneck, Pedro Galiza, Jonatas Gurgel, Rodrigo Reis and Francimar Barroso were mentioned for their contribution to Jiu-Jitsu in Jordan and the students of Team Mirza BJJ.

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)

Soccer is, and always will be, the Brazilian people’s great passion. But no one lives life with just one passion. Those already into it always knew how sooner or later MMA would become a national passion.

This new passion the Brazilian people have been showing is overwhelming, as one could plainly see during the heavyweight title fight between Cigano and Velasquez last Saturday.

Being Brazilian but living abroad, I didn’t get to watch the fight live, as it was 4 am in Jordan when the fight took place. Not one to invite myself to watch at someone else’s house at odd hours during winter in the northern hemisphere, I had to content myself with the reports going around on the biggest social networking site on the planet via my smart phone. All without leaving the comfort of bed, of course.

The ex-waiter made it. Photo: UFC.

So it was there, in the chilling Jordanian morning, that I could attest to the proportions of Brazil’s new great passion is. The posts going around on the networking site, where I have nearly 3,000 friends, were about nothing but the fight.

And these weren’t people who had anything to do with fighting: There was a withdrawn old aunt saying, “We’re with you, Junior Cigano!” The director of a law school posting, “It’s Brazil in the UFC.” And so on and so forth. In a way, even 11,000 kilometers away, I could feel how the soccer-crazed country was at the edge of their seats in anxious anticipation. And as swift as a kick on goal, the young and talented Junior Cigano caused an entire nation to burst in emotion. It was like a World Cup goal getting everyone out onto the streets, or Ayrton Senna winning the race with a broken car, brightening up the start of a new week for the Brazilian people.

Even without getting to see it, I was overcome with emotion. It made me remember all the sweat spilt since the days of the brothers Carlos, Helio, Gastão and George; the lack of recognition and support; the indifference and prejudice; the two heroes practically unknown to the public at large; the shattered dreams, the injuries and hardships causing brilliant careers to crash to an end.

And all that thanks to the former waiter Junior Cigano, who served us the well-earned redemption on a silver platter. These stories will surely fuel this new national passion. And the way passions are, you don’t explain them; you just feel them.

The taxi in Dubai. Desert Force wants to piggyback on the new talent and produce "heroes" for young people. Publicity photo.

A Jordanian MMA event scouting the talent from across the Arab world, Desert Force will touch down in Dubai on the 16th of December.

The UAE event, besides serving up some decisive battles between athletes from the Middle Eastern region, will feature international matchups with fighters like Francimar Bodão, Antony Rea and Cristiano Marcello.

The folks are taking it quite seriously. For example, the black belt Francimar Bodão, who has been residing in Jordan for a year now, returns to Brazil this weekend to prepare for his fight alongside his team, Nova União.

“Dedé (Pederneiras) emailed me asking that I do my preparations in Brazil. There’s no arguing, I’m packing my bags,” said Bodão.

The fighter will be facing seasoned Frenchman Antony Rea, who at the last Desert Force event made quick work of Sean Michael Salmon, on September 30 in Jordan.

However much weight the international card carries, the main focus of the event is till to launch talent from the region. According to Jordan’s Prince Hussein Mirza, one of the promoters of the event, the idea is to produce heroes of the sport to whom Arab youths can look up to as honorable and healthy athletes.

The effort is endorsed by the Jordanian team’s boxing coach, the American Nettles Nasser. Nettles worked with Kevin Rooney, Mike Tyson’s coach, for three years in New York, and is working with Olympic teams in the region. He’s the one tasked with preparing the new stars of Arab MMA.

“Here they’re naturally born fighters. The stories here are similar to those of American inner cities. I’ve seen boxing save hundreds of lives in the USA during the 18 years I’ve worked in the sport. Nowadays I feel MMA will be doing the same,” he reflected.

The event’s organizers confirmed that the Arab winners will earn an extra reward upon capturing the DFC belt:: the idea is to send them to a lengthy training camp, probably in Brazil. From there they will be launched into the international spotlight.

Desert Force
Dubai, United Arab Emirates
December 16, 2011

(-70 kg)
Elias El Rayess (LEB) vs Abdullah Nabas (JOR)
Bachir Yamine (LEB) vs Hassan Al Humaiti (UAE)
Mahmoud Saeed “Balardo” (EGY) vs Abdullah Bin Qasem (SAUDI)
Issa Issa (EGY) vs Mohamed Arti (KUW)

(-77 kg)
Milad Slaibi (LEB) vs Ammar Tchalabi (SAUDI)
Georges Eid (LEB) vs Gabrielt Tayeh (PAL)

(-84 kg)
Ibrahim Sawi (EGY) vs Omar Alqabandi (KUW)
Aymen Ben Ali (TUN) vs Hashem Arkhagha (JOR)

(-93 kg)
Mohamed “Felix” El Sayed (EGY) vs Khalid Walid (SYR)
Amr Shehata (EGY) vs Ayob Al Shemmeri (KUW)
Mohammed Abdel Atheem (EGY) vs Mahmoud El Sayed (EGY)

International card
70 kg = Cristiano Marcello (BRA) vs Brian Cobb (USA)
70 kg = Maiki Ritter (BRA) vs Islam Makoev (RUS)
77 kg = Abdullah Hamdan (LEB) vs Oleb Bagov (RUS)
93 kg = Francimar “Bodao” Barroso (BRA) vs Antony Rea (FRA)

Publicity photo

Mohammed Samir doesn’t yet know what Jiu-Jitsu is, doesn’t even know his name is Mohammed Samir yet, but he has sported a gi.

He’s the son of hard-nosed Jordanian Tamer Samir, one of the first purple belts in Jordan’s army, having been promoted last June and trained by our GMA Zaid Mirza. Tamer holds a number of titles, among them Arab gentle art champion.

To find out more about the work our GMA is doing in Jordan, visit www.jordanjiujitsu.com.