MIDLAND mixed martial artist Ashraf Farawah fought and won his mixed martial arts (MMA) debut on November 20, at the Domination promotion’s MMA 9 event, adding to his win streak this year.

From the touch of the gloves Brian Lim from Bravos BJJ came out with his arms swinging.

Trying early for a takedown which was stopped by the ever-nimble Farawah.

Early on, Farawah displayed his precision and control during the stand up striking.

Even with ferocious overhands coming from Lim, Farawah’s composure and distance management proved too much for his opponent.

With the final 40 seconds to go in the first round, Lim was able to wrestle Farawah onto his back.

Farawah was able to fight back to his feet, create the distance and disorient Lim with a massive head kick, followed up with a jumping knee.

A second head kick and knee from Farawah unfortunately landed the Midland fighter into grappling range with Lim managing a final takedown to end the first round.

Heading into round two, Farawah’s plan was to avoid playing into his opponent’s strength as a jiu-jitsu purple belt by keeping the fight off of the ground.

The next two rounds saw inside and outside leg kicks from Farawah with crisp and precise punches contrasting the ferocity that was coming from Lim’s fists.

With the leg kicks chopping at the opponent’s ability to move, pristine boxing, head movement and the occasional knee being thrown from Farawah, he gave his opponent a display of striking skill.

The fight was a three-round war that went the distance, leading to a decision win for Farawah, with commentators claiming the bout had fight of the night potential.

Farawah was awarded most promising fighter of the night for his efforts.

Mad Dog Martial Arts coach Slade Hutcheson trained Farawah from age 14 and said he never missed a class.
“If there was a class on, he was there,” Mr Hutcheson said.

“Really, he is just such a humble, good natured and hard-working person.

“He is a great coach, friend and huge part of the Mad Dog Team.”

Farawah said he aimed to focus more on MMA in the future and his time training Muay Thai was always aimed to develop a good stand-up game to implement into his MMA arsenal.

“I feel like a broken record, but I do genuinely mean it – thank you everyone for your support, you guys know who you are, not just (during my MMA debut) but for the whole year,” he said.

“I had the opportunity to fight four times this year, enjoying every moment of each and every one and winning them all as a nice bonus.

“The transition to MMA was no joke – (Lim) was a very tough opponent who was well versed in his stand up and groundwork.

“He was a perfect match up for my debut and I really appreciate the time and effort Slade gives for us fighters, balancing a club, full time job and keen fighters all on one plate.”