Izzeddine Al Derbani racked up his fourth straight victory as he overcame Youssef Ghrairi at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi on Saturday night.
However, it was the Lebanese fighter came out of the blocks fastest in the UAE Warriors 26 headliner. He scored and early knockdown with the right hand.
‘The Palestinian Samurai’ was quick to respond and wrapped his opponent up in a body lock before forcing the takedown and moving into side control before moving into Ghrairi’s guard.
Wild shots
When the fighters got back to their feet, ‘The Widow Maker’ went in with some wild shots that didn’t connect. In turn, Al Derbani was able to take his back and drag him back down to canvas. The Jordan-born fighter then locked in a rear-naked-choke but ran out of time draw the submission at the end of the round.
The Brave veteran came out swinging at the start of the second but wound up in the clinch as Al Derbani secured another takedown and worked his way into half guard. From there, he unleashed some right hands and a big knee to the ribs.
Superior grappling
Ghrairi fought back with a kimura attempt to no avail, and the 34-year-old continued to look stronger on the ground as he found full mount and dropped a big elbow. Ghrairi reversed the position and dropped some elbows of his own and continued his mini revival with a takedown early in the third.
Al Derbani soon bit back as he moved to side control and asserted himself with some knee on belly. The taller fighter sought to finish to the fight with a late guillotine attempt and his superior grappling was enough to get the nod from all three judges.
His record extends to 12-2. Ghrairi slides to 9-3.
UAE Warriors 26, Abu Dhabi, February 26th
Izzeddine Al Derbani def. Youssef Ghrairi by Decision (Unanimous)
More results to come…
