“I have worked extremely hard on my cardio for this fight.”
It was a long awaited fight in the Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) arena, mostly down to the rivalry of their two nations.
But Pakistan’s Uloomi Karim Shaheen came out with the victory against India’s own Yadwinder Singh at the World Series of Fighting Global Championship (WSOF-GC) in Manila.
Singh went into the fight with a 2-inch size advantage. However, Karim was overpowering and the fight went the distance.
A unanimous point’s decision saw in favour of Karim, with a comfortable win of 30-27, 30-27, 29-28.
Indo-Pak rivalry is an intense and bitter fight in all contests, and this bout proved no different. It was a fiery run-up and Uloomi ensured he was sufficiently prepared, physically and mentally.
The 25-year-old proved confident entering the ring with Singh, stating: “I have worked extremely hard on my cardio for this fight, and I’m confident it will make a difference.”
He also suggested that it wouldn’t be so much just a battle of nations, but also fighting styles, since Singh is a ‘traditional wrestler’. Karim is considered more of a Striker.
You can watch Uloomi Karim Shaheen vs Yadwinder Singh here:
Current holder of the Bantam Weight (61) Championship Belt of Under Ground Battle (UGB), Uloomi is one of Pakistan’s top prospects in the ever increasing popular sport of MMA.
He wasn’t the only Pakistani to achieve success at the WSOF however. Ahmed ‘Wolverine’ Mujtaba dispatched Philippines’ Neil Laranow in 1 minute and 8 seconds to retain his title.
The armbar triangle choke ensured Laranow didn’t make it through the first round, doubling Pakistan’s success record for the day.
Uloomi was evidently watching with intrigue as he re-tweeted the moment Fox News captured Mujtaba taking his victory.
Karim’s success improves his record to 5-3 and he is currently on a 3-match win-streak following an abysmal stint in 2014. No doubt he will look to build on this in the coming months.