Champ inspired by home support in BRAVE win

Manama, Sep. 29 (BNA): Hamza Kooheji voiced how blown away he was by the experience of fighting in his home country, in front of a full house of familiar faces. Bahrain’s brightest MMA prospect won in style at Brave: The Beginning, finishing his opponent Mohamed Mashally mid-way through the second round with a north-south choke submission. It must be every fighters dream to be able to produce such an impressive display in front of their adoring home supporters, and Kooheji realized this dream on Friday night at Khalifa Sports City in front of an audience he knew well, and of course, the on-looking HH Shaikh Khalid bin Hamad Al Khalifa and his sibling HH Shaikh Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa. "It was like I was fighting in my home, these were not my fans, all of them were my friends and family," he said. "Fighting in Bahrain was everything for me. Thanks to Shaikh Khalid and Shaikh Nasser, who showed constant support and gave me strength throughout." From the opening bell, Hamza was focused, pursuing Mashally and looking for the opening to take him to the ground. Once he was able to comfortably take the fight to the ground he displayed his excellent Jiu-Jitsu skills, with slick transitions and seamless submission attempts. It looked as though the choke was his plan from the outset, but he insists he had planned the opposite prior to the fight. He said: "This fight I worked a lot on my striking and I wanted to strike, but I thought about it, and in my last fight I came from a loss, so I wanted to play safe," he said. "I did what I am good at so I took no damage and made sure I can fight again!" Bahrain’s 23-year-old star certainly took no damage and got the fight finished very efficiently, which should ensure a swift return to action. High-flying Hamza is eager to get back in there and prove to the world he is the best in his weight class, and his goal is to become Bahrain’s first world champion in MMA. "Titles, shields anything they bring I want it all," he said. "I believe I am the best bantamweight fighter, not only in Brave, but anywhere. I am very strong for this weight and I am ready for anything that comes up." After this stand-out performance, you can be sure that Hamza will be one of the first names penciled on the card of Brave’s next event.