Princesa Iman após o treininho. Foto: Arquivo Pessoal

Lisonjeado com a notícia de seu casamento com a princesa jordaniana Iman Bint Hussein na capa do site GracieMag, o faixa-preta de Jiu-Jitsu Zaid Mirza nos remeteu uma foto exclusiva de sua esposa após um treino de muay thai, esporte que ela pratica há dois anos.

Segundo Mirza, faz um ano que a princesa também pratica Jiu-Jits, o que, segundo nossas fontes na Jordânia, fez que o casal se aproximasse de vez. Irmãos da princesa, os príncipes Hashim e Hamza também são adeptos da arte suave, e hoje são dois duros faixas-azuis.

Outra descoberta de GracieMag durante a cerimônia de casamento, realizada em março, na Jordânia, é que um dos nobres convidados, o xeque Khaled Bin Hamad al Khalifa, filho do rei do Bahrein, também tem tido aulas particulares de Jiu-Jitsu brasileiro em seu próprio palácio, no pequeno emirado.

Como tudo indica, mais famílias reais das Arábias estão se apaixonando pelo nosso 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.

Líder da equipe Mirza BJJ na Jordânia, o faixa-preta Zaid Mirza promoveu três de seus alunos para à faixa-preta de Jiu-Jitsu.

Mohammed Bilbeisi, Zaid Abu Soud e Ashraf Shishani praticam a arte suave há 10 anos, desde que Mirza voltou a Amã. “Esses caras vivem o Jiu-Jitsu nos últimos dez anos. Eles estavam diretamente envolvidos e responsáveis por treinar o exército jordaniano e as forças policiais. Tenho certeza de que vão continuar a espalhar o esporte na região”, explica o orgulhoso Zaid Mirza.

“O Mohammed, de 22 anos, é o mais jovem lutador a receber a graduação preta na história do Oriente Médio”, completou.

Outros faixas-pretas foram lembrados na cerimônia. Nomes que deixaram uma marca notável no desenvolvimento da arte suave na Jordânia. Cassio Werneck, Pedro Galiza, Jonatas Gurgel, Rodrigo Reis, e Francimar Barroso, foram citados por sua contribuição para o Jiu-Jitsu da Jordânia e os alunos da Team Mirza BJJ.

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.

Yesterday, the television network MBC, the biggest in the Arab world and owned by the Saudi royal family, announced that it has come to an agreement with the Desert Force MMA promotion. Desert Force is a Jordan-based event where Jiu-Jitsu black belts Cristiano Marcello and Jorge Michelan, as well as France’s Anthony Rea and others, have fought in the past. The promoters’ aim, though, is to farm talent from the region and launch them in the international MMA market.

“Our objective has been to draw a greater and greater audience to our event, thus channeling expectations onto local Arab heroes of the sport. Our region is in need of more entertainment, and MMA has become more and more popular around here. We couldn’t have hoped for a better partner, as MBC reaches 200 million households in 22 Arabic-speaking nations. That’s a giant media segment,” stated the promoter and Jiu-Jitsu black belt Zaid Mirza, a native of the Brazilian capital of Brasilia based in Jordan.

The next Desert Force event will take place on the 7th of September, just after the month of Ramadan. It will be broadcast on the MBC Action channel, specializing in action movies and radical sports, to an audience of around 58 million people, according to the network. At the channel’s behest, the tournament featuring the Arab fighters and those of Arab descent through to the final phase will pick up again.

One of the participants is Southern Brazilian brown belt Gabriel Tayeh, who will be representing Palestine: “This is great news. The exposure it will give the fighters will be huge. That will draw more sponsors and fans,” said Gabriel, before hopping a plane to Rio de Janeiro to carry on training at X-Gym and Team Nogueira.

The full card for the event will be announced shortly, so stay tuned to GRACIEMAG.com.

A rede de televisão MBC, a maior do mundo árabe e pertencente à família real saudita, anunciou, ontem, um acordo com o evento de MMA Desert Force. O Desert Force é um evento com sede na Jordânia, onde já lutaram os faixas-pretas de Jiu-Jitsu Cristiano Marcello e Jorge Michelan, além do francês Anthony Rea e muitos outros. A meta do show, no entanto, é descobrir talentos da região e lançá-los no mercado internacional de MMA.

“Nosso objetivo tem sido atrair mais e mais público para o nosso evento, e assim canalizar as expectativas em torno dos ídolos árabes locais do esporte. Nossa região necessita de entretenimento, e o MMA mostra-se cada vez mais popular aqui também. Não poderíamos ter uma parcerra melhor, já que a rede MBC alcança 200 milhões de lares nos 22 países de língua árabe, é uma gigante do setor de mídia”, salienta o organizador e faixa-preta de Jiu-Jitsu Zaid Mirza, um brasiliense radicado na Jordânia.

O próximo Desert Force deve ocorrer no dia 7 de setembro, logo após o mês do Ramadan. Será transmitido pelo canal MBC Action, especializado em filmes de ação e esportes radicais, com uma audiência de cerca de 58 milhões de pessoas segundo a emissora. Por imposição do canal, porém, o torneio de árabes e descendentes que se encontrava nas fases finais vai recomeçar.

Um dos participantes é o gaúcho faixa-marrom Gabriel Tayeh, que luta representando a Palestina: “Essa é uma ótima notícia, a exposição agora será gigante para os lutadores. Isso vai atrair patrocinadores e mais fãs”, disse Gabriel, antes de embarcar para o Rio de Janeiro para incrementar os treinamentos na X-Gym e no Team Nogueira.

Em breve, você vai saber o card completo do evento que deve ter lutadores brasileiros nas lutas principais. Fique ligado no GRACIEMAG.com.

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

Desert Force MMA Championship will hold its third event this Friday, September 30.

The event organized by GMA member Zaid Mirza will be held at the famed Orthodox Club, located in the prestigious Abdoun area, in the heart of Amman, Jordan.

The inaugural Middle East MMA Grand Prix is an ongoing  success for fighters in the region.

The winners of this phase will go through to the December  finals to fight for the Middle Eastern title.

Aside from the ongoing Middle East GP, there are a number of international matchups on the card.  For the upcoming  event, spectators will be able to watch UFC and Strikeforce veteran Sean Salmon (USA) take on Cage Rage champion  Antony Rea (France).

The co-main event of the night will feature Jordanian revelation Hashem Arkhagha squaring off with UAE-based  Mohammed Abu Naim (Palestine).

For further information, go to www.desertfc.com

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.

Foto: Divulgação.

Mohammed Samir ainda nem sabe o que é o Jiu-Jitsu, ainda nem sabe que se chama Mohammed Samir, mas já vestiu o kimono.

Trata-se do filho do casca-grossa jordaniano Tamer Samir, um dos primeiros faixas-roxas do exército da Jordânia, graduado em junho último, e treinado pelo nosso GMA Zaid Mirza. Tamer tem diversos títulos, entre eles o de campeão árabe de arte suave.

Para saber mais sobre o trabalho deste nosso GMA, visite www.jordanjiujitsu.com.

The girls attended intensive Jiu-Jitsu classes, which play  an essential role in keeping them in shape, teaching them to defend themselves, while at the same time boosting their self-esteem and confidence.

As the ceremony came to a close each of the girls received a certificate of completion with the four highest achieving girls being awarded a full scholarship to Team Mirza to continue their training and further develop their skills.

The great success of this pilot program has led to plans for continued workshops for underprivileged children throughout the kingdom.  The classes were taught by Brazilian black belt Francimar “Bodao” Barroso and Middle Eastern BJJ champions Gardena, Nabas and Jahed.

The project’s aim is to reach over 900 orphans in Jordan and the Middle East.  This project has proven to work in major underprivileged areas in Brazil, where kids had a chance to excel in life through sports programs involving Jiu-Jitsu and Mixed Martial Arts.

“This project is the first of its kind in Jordan.  We are really proud to have found such an opportunity for our kids”, says American activist Sean Kelly, who with the support of black belt and GMA member Zaid Mirza are turning things around in the Kingdom.

For further information, go to jordanjiujitsu.com