Desert Force Championship

Desert Force MMA Championship

Company type	Private
Industry	Mixed martial arts promotion
Founded	October 10, 2 (2-10-10)
Founder	Zaid Mirza, [1] Mohammad Mirza, Zaid Abu-Soud
Headquarters	Amman , Jordan
Parent	X-Sports Management, LLC

Desert Force Championship (DFC) was a mixed martial arts promotion company in the Arab world, which held most of the top-ranked Arab MMA fighters in the region. ^{[2] [3]} The championship has held ten televised events and presided over approximately 100 matches. ^[4] DFC currently airs on MBC1 on a bi-monthly basis. ^[5] In 2010 Desert Force launched the “Elimination Series”, a single-elimination tournament for Arab MMA fighters competing to become the first regional MMA title belt holders in 7 respective weight classes. Fighters from across the Middle East have competed in 7 weight classes, namely Bantamweights, Featherweights, Lightweights, Welterweights, Middleweights, Light-Heavyweights and Heavyweights; each class enforcing the Unified Rules of Mixed Martial Arts. Participating countries include: KSA, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait, Jordan, Iraq, Bahrain, Palestine, Syria, Lebanon, Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia. ^[6] In recent years DFC fights have been officially refereed by MMA referee Yves Lavigne. ^{[7] [8] [9] [10]}

Current champions

Division	Upper weight limit	Champion	Since	Title defenses
Bantamweight	61 kg (134.5 lb)	Nawras Abzakh	September 5, 2016 (Desert Force 24)	0
Middleweight	84 kg (185.2 lb)	Mohammed Karaki	December 7, 2015 (Desert Force 19)	0
Welterweight	77 kg (169.8 lb)	Mounir Lazzez	March 23, 2015 (Desert Force 16)	0
Lightweight	70 kg (154.3 lb)	Mohammed Treki	March 23, 2015 (Desert Force 16)	0
Featherweight	66 kg (145.5 lb)	Aziz Julaidan	December 15, 2014 (Desert Force 14 - Al Academiya 2 Finale)	0
Welterweight	77 kg (169.8 lb)	Ahmed Labban	November 15, 1991 (Desert Force 15 - Al Academiya 3 Finale)	0

Events

Country	Event title	Location	Date
Egypt	Desert Force 19 - Egypt	Shooting Club Stadium, Cairo	2015-12-07
Lebanon	Desert Force 18 - Lebanon	Ghazir Stadium, BEIRUT	2015-08-18
Jordan	Desert Force 17 - Homecoming	Al-Hussein Youth City Boxing Arena - Amman	2015-05-25
Saudi Arabia	Desert Force 16 - Saudi Arabia	Green Halls - Riyadh	2015-03-23
UAE	Desert Force 15 - Abu Dhabi	FGB Arena	2015-02-09
Saudi Arabia	Desert Force 14 - Al Academiya 2 Finale	KSA Venue Jeddah	2014-12-15
UAE	Desert Force 13 - Abu Dhabi	FGB Arena	2014-08-25
Jordan	Desert Force 12	Al-Hussein Youth City Boxing Arena - Amman	2014-04-28
Bahrain	Desert Force 11 Bahrain	Khalifa Sports City Arena, Manama	2014-03-07
Jordan	Desert Force 10 - Al Academiya Finale	Al-Hussein Youth City Boxing Arena - Amman	2014-01-27
UAE	Desert Force Dubai	AUD Knights Arena	2013-10-17
Jordan	Desert Force - 2013 Grand Prix Finals	Al-Hussein Youth City Boxing Arena -Amman	2013-06-15
Jordan	Desert Force - 2013 Grand Prix Semifinals	Al-Hussein Youth City Boxing Arena - Amman	2013-03-07
Jordan	Desert Force - Round 2 on MBC Action	Al-Hussein Youth City Boxing Arena - Amman	2012-12-14
Jordan	DFC - Desert Force 5	Amman National Orthodox Club Gymnasium	2012-09-07
Jordan	Desert Force 4 - Middle East Grand Prix	Amman National Orthodox Club Gymnasium	2012-03-30
Jordan	Desert Force 3 - Elimination Series: Knockout Round	Amman National Orthodox Club Gymnasium	2010-09-30
Jordan	DFC - Desert Force 2	Amman National Orthodox Club Gymnasium	2011-05-19
Jordan	DFC - Desert Force 1	Amman National Orthodox Club Gymnasium	2010-09-08

Weight divisions

Weight class name	Upper limit
	in pounds (lb)	in kilograms (kg)
Bantamweight	135 lb	61 kg
Featherweight	145 lb	66 kg
Lightweight	155 lb	70 kg
Welterweight	170 lb	77 kg
Middleweight	185 lb	84 kg
Light Heavyweight	205 lb	93 kg
Heavyweight	265 lb	120 kg

Desert Force Academy

The Desert Force Academy is a 13 episode reality TV series that started airing in November 2013 on MBC1. The series follows the lives of 16 amateur Arab MMA fighters training and fighting for a chance to hold the Desert Force title for their respective weight. ^{[2] [11] [12]}

In the second season there was a big change and surprises in the fighters test, before it was only organize matches between fighters and the winner get the opportunity to participate. But in the second season they will train the fighters in military base for five days and who will survive will participate.

References

1. "Interview With Desert Force Founder Zaid Mirza Who Plans To Expand from the Middle East to Las Vegas - MMAmania.com". mmamania.com. Retrieved March 22, 2014.
2. "Desert Force MMA Championship kicks off on MBC1". Rapid TV News. Retrieved March 22, 2014.
3. "Desert Force is finding its MMA niche in the Middle East". The National. Retrieved March 22, 2014.
4. "Desert Force Championship Fights, Fight Cards, Videos, Pictures, Events and more". sherdog.com. Retrieved March 16, 2014.
5. "MBC.net - Desert force – MBC 1". mbc.net. Archived from the original on February 10, 2014. Retrieved March 16, 2014.
6. "The First Arab MMA Championship of its kind in the Middle East concludes in Amman - ArabsMMA". arabsmma.com. Retrieved March 16, 2014.
7. "browser - Please update to a modern browser". arabsmma.com. Retrieved March 16, 2014.
8. "Bahrain to host Desert Force MMA Championship". bna.bh. Bahrain News Agency. Retrieved March 16, 2014.
9. "Bahrain set to host Desert Force Championship". gulf-daily-news.com. Retrieved March 16, 2014.
10. "Desert Force "Al Academiya" Finale Results: Fakhreddine Victorious After Thabet Suffers Knee Injury". theflyingkneemma.com. Retrieved March 16, 2014.
11. "Google Translate". translate.google.jo. Retrieved March 16, 2014.
12. "Desert Force Martial Arts championship concludes in Amman". Ammon News. Retrieved March 16, 2014.