By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Maliha Ali, 24, beat Russia’s two-time European champion Veronika Drozdova by split decision at the amateur mixed martial arts world championships in Tbilisi, Georgia, on Tuesday.
Russia arrived at the International Mixed Martial Arts Federation (IMMAF) tournament with more than 60 athletes, government backing and one of the best-funded programmes in the sport, local media reported.
Ali, from Hunza in Gilgit-Baltistan, won their featherweight (65.8kg) bout against the 19-year-old Drozdova. She is also a wushu champion and national kickboxing gold medallist, and came into the tournament after winning silver at the IMMAF World Cup in Angola earlier this year.
The fight was won early and nearly lost late.
Fighting from a southpaw stance, Ali started cautiously before closing the distance and pinning the Russian against the cage. She landed clean strikes to finish the opening round strongly, although Drozdova found a couple of overhand lefts.
Ali dominated the second round. She secured a takedown, took the fight to the floor and moved into full mount, sitting astride her opponent’s torso to land heavy blows from the top.
But she appeared to tire in the third, when Drozdova took her down and controlled the action on the ground. The round went to the Russian, but the first two belonged to Ali, and the judges agreed.
When the final bell rang, Ali stood with her arms raised, hoping rather than certain of the verdict. When her name was announced she let out a roar, and Omar Ahmed, president of the Pakistan MMA Federation, leapt with joy from her corner.
She hugged her opponent, then dropped to the mat in prostration with the Pakistan flag draped over her shoulders.
“I was listening to the corner and the coach’s instructions during the fight,” Ali told Dawn. “We worked on our opponent’s game plan, how she fights, and executed our strategy. And thankfully it worked.”
Ahmed said the federation held a six-week camp and brought in an international jiu-jitsu and grappling coach after spotting weaknesses during Ali’s run to silver in Angola.
“There were some holes in their game which we spotted during the event in Angola,” he told Dawn. “The coach worked on the mistakes that she made during her previous fights, and we saw the improvement today.”
He acknowledged the gulf in resources between the two nations.
“Russia has one of the most well-funded MMA programs,” Ahmed said. “Compared to them, we are the most underfunded and probably the least-resourced federation competing in this event because of the sports policy in Pakistan. But still, we manage to eke out victories against such formidable opponents.”
Each such win, he said, carries a deeper meaning.
“Watching our fighters win against such tough opponents brings me joy which I cannot put into words,” he added. “We come from almost nothing; the only thing we have is our grit and desire to succeed, and I guess that’s what matters at the end of the day.”
It is a familiar position for the federation. Pakistan’s campaign at last year’s championships, also held in Tbilisi, was reported to have been entirely self-funded through private sponsorship, with no government money.
Ali faces Mexico’s Andrea Gabriela Guzman Salazar in the quarter-finals on Wednesday. Her twin sister Manesha fights Poland’s Martyna Caruk on the same day. Manesha won gold at the IMMAF World Cup in Luanda earlier this year, beating Angola’s Leonela Isabel Blaiye by second-round submission, and has said she wants to become world champion and the first Pakistani woman to fight in the UFC. Both sisters are chasing world titles.
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