Amira El-Naqeeb witnesses the birth of a new sport in Egypt "Mixed Martial Arts (MMA), for me, is the complete sport," Fernando Cotton, a professional, international MMA fighter told Al-Ahram Weekly in the wake of the first MMA event to take place in Egypt. When asked why, Cotton said "because you have to use all your skills standing and in submission." MMA is a mix of boxing, kickboxing, jiu-jitsu and judo. Sixteen young men competed against each other in the event that took place at the end of last month in one of the specialised martial arts sports centres in Cairo. Since 2006 MMA has been the fastest growing sport in the United States. According to CBS News, not long ago the sport was vetoed as "too vicious for decent society" but it came back in full blow. The contest was divided into eight fights. Each fight encompassed two rounds; each round is five minutes. The eight winners overcame their opponents in the two rounds, either by submission, a knockout or a referee stoppage (technical knockout). A professional fight is usually three rounds, five minutes each round. According to Cotton the preparing and the training for the contest took three months. Cotton has a blue belt in jiu-jitsu, and his record in MMA is 3-2-0. His most recent fight was in February when he beat a Moroccan in the Furious Fighting Championship in Morocco. Twenty-three-year-old black belt judo Ahmed Maged won his fight in 30 seconds. After leaving the judo national team, he was smitten with Ultimate Fighting Championship UFC, and was looking for any sport close to it, until he found the MMA. On the event, Maged said that he craves a challenge and that it would have been more challenging if there were competitors from outside the gym coming for the fight. "This is only the beginning. I wanted the guys to start experiencing what a real fight is," said Cotton. He said he tried inviting people from kung fu, judo, and karate clubs, but none showed up. The event was envisioned by Amr Hesham, Knockout Gym general manager. Hesham said he wanted to introduce the sport to the Egyptian audience. He tried to lobby as many sponsors as possible to give prizes to first place winners. Asser Saleh, an 18-year-old MMA fighter, and one of the eight winners, thinks back to his first encounter with martial arts, which was only eight months ago. Although Saleh confirmed that his three months training served him well in the ring, the fight was still quiet unpredictable. "There was no bluffing," he said. Although the sport is a bit bloody for many people, Saleh says he is not worried about blood spurting out. He's more concerned about his pride as a fighter. Cotton aspires to have the first MMA team in Egypt. He will start with Saleh and Maged as the first two Egyptians in the team. Hopefully, Maged will have his first fight in September against a Spaniard. Cotton said he will manage these two potential fighters personally with his French promoter. "It's a new sport in Egypt. We need people to know about it before fishing for sponsorship."
