The Alash Pride fighting club will hold a mixed martial arts (MMA) tournament on Dec. 19 to commemorate Kazakhstan’s 22 years of independence. Renowned fighters from around the world will take part in the competition.
According to Daniyar Kaskarulov, president of Alash Pride club, tournament audiences will see famous fighters from around the world fight for the first Alash Pride belt.
“Alash Pride has existed for three years already, and each year we hold major tournaments to commemorate Kazakhstan’s independence. This time, for the first time, we decided to hold fights for the Alash Pride belt. So far, Kairat Akhmetov in Central Asia is the best fighter,” Kaskarulov said. “So we decided to invite one of the strongest Japanese lightweight fighters, Tatsuya Watanabe, and have a fight between them for the title of Alash Pride champion of Asia. Watanabe is a very experienced fighter; he has had 21 fights at the professional level. In 14 fights, [Watanabe] claimed victory, nine of which ended with a knockout,” Kaskarulov said.
Today, the Alash Pride tournament is considered one of the best in Central Asia, and Japan generally fields the strongest fighters from Asia. The Watanabe-Akhmetov matchup is seen as a fight between worthy opponents. Joe Uehara, head of promotion for Japan’s ZST mixed martial arts club, will come to Kazakhstan for the fight.
The main fight of the event will be a rematch between Yerzhan Yestanov and Rassul Mirzayev. Mirzayev has won seven fights so far, including a recent fight in Thailand in which he beat Englishman James Saville.
Kazakh fighter Adil Boranbayev will meet with one of Kyrgyzstan’s best, Zhanybek Amatov. The fighter from Southern Kyrgyzstan is his country’s biggest MMA star. Amatov has fought in a number of tournaments and has been invited to Russia three times to compete in Fight Nights promotions .Chechen wrestler Buvaysar Saitiyev, three-time Olympic champion, six-time World Champion, six-time European champion and five-time Russian champion has been invited as a guest of honour. Organisers also plan to invite President of Russia’s Chechnya Ramazan Kadyrov.
The event is being organised with the assistance of Kazakhstan’s Agency of Sports and Physical Training.
