Ali Al Qaisi enjoying the spotlight as UAE Warriors celebrate milestone 50th event

The UAE Warriors will be celebrating their milestone 50th event this weekend and marking the event will be Ali Al Qaisi who features in the main featherweight title contest at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre Marina on Saturday.

The Jordanian meets Sweden's Samuel Bark in the main contest of the 12-fight card that also includes a welterweight title fight between Russian Shakhban Alkhasov and Tahir Abdulaev of Azerbaijan and a flyweight title clash between Yamato Fujita of Japan and Brazilian Iago Ribeiro.

But the spotlight will be on Al Qaisi who is one of the most popular MMA fighters in the region and draws the biggest and most passionate crowd when he appears for the Abu Dhabi promotion.

So, it’s no surprise that Al Qaisi considers Abu Dhabi his home away from home.

“When I travel to Abu Dhabi, I’m greeted by people as a member of their family. I always want to put on a show for them and their presence and support inspire me more,” Al Qaisi said.

“I’m super excited to be in the spotlight in the promotion’s milestone 50th event. I not only want to win but want to win convincingly and want to put up show for everyone.”

Al Qaisi is Jordan’s first fighter to feature in two UFC contests. He went down to Mexican Irwin Rivera in a split decision in August 2022 and got beaten by American Tony Kelley by unanimous decision two months later before being released.

Since then, he has featured in the UAE Warriors in eight fights, winning six and suffering two defeats for an overall record of 15-7. He also holds the promotion’s Arabia and International titles.

“It’s a promotion that I want to be associated with for as long as possible, and obviously want to defend my two titles for as long as possible,” Al Qaisi said.

“We as