DUBAI // Malik Omarov hopes his breakfast of beef sandwiches will help to fuel one of his killer blows in the emirate's first mixed martial arts (MMA) event tonight.
The card includes top fighters from the United States and United Kingdom who will take on some of the UAE's hardest professional fighters in the 7-square-metre caged ring.
"He is seriously devastating. He has a lot of muay Thai [a form of kick-boxing] fights under his belt in Thailand and other places," said Tam Khan, of Tamari Promotions.
There have been a series of MMA fights in the UAE since 2010.
The canvas in the cage at the Habtoor Grand Hotel will take as much punishment as it does in an Ultimate Fighting Championship event, as will the fighters.
And although the rules disallow elbows to the head when a fighter is on the ground, participants often end up with broken limbs and bruised faces.
The referee can stop the fight, a fighter can tap out to admit defeat or the winner can knock out his opponent.
Last night some of the fighters met for the first time at Barasti Bar for a traditional weigh-in, where fans were able to get up close.
The Russian Omarov, based in Dubai, has four MMA fights under his belt and lots of experience in taking hard blows to the body.
He believes his 50 fights in the muay Thai ring are enough to take on Stuart Davies of the UK in the main event under-card.
"There are guys who first started out with only MMA and have had about 15 MMA fights," said Omarov, 26. "I still feel more confident than them because I have more than 50 fights in muay Thai."
Like the other 23 fighters in the event, he starts the day with a breakfast of carbohydrates and protein.
"I need energy for the morning training sessions," Omarov said.
Those sessions last for two hours before he tends to daily tasks. He then tucks in to another feed of carbohydrates and protein for lunch.
"I then prepare for the evening training session from 5pm to 7pm," Omarov said. "I only eat protein if I have to lose weight before a fight. If not, I eat whatever. I like to have a lot to eat."
In a typical week he trains in boxing, wrestling, muay Thai and jiu-jitsu. He also takes a 10-kilometre run once a week.
Mounir Lazzaz, a Tunisian, trains at Contender MMA gym in Sheikh Zayed Road and will enter the ring tonight for the first time as a professional.
"My speciality is muay Thai, Brazilian jiu-jitsu," Lazzaz said. "I'm feeling good for this weekend's fight. I've trained and worked hard for this."
He will be fighting Ashkan Mehdrdadpoor from Team Ashkan MMA Iran.
Ricco "Suave" Rodriguez, the UFC heavyweight champion in 2002, will face the English heavyweight Stav "Crazy Bear" Economou in the main event of the night.
Michel Maia, who fights for Ready Fight Team Abu Dhabi, is a two-time world Brazilian jiu-jitsu champion and won his only MMA match.
Other local fighters include Rafat Shawe, an Iraqi middleweight, and Mohammed Naimi of Sharjah Fight Club - Team Ghasimi.
"We want to develop local fighters by providing them a platform," Mr Khan said. "We brought in some fighters from the US and London to start to build it.
"We want it to feel like a Ultimate Fighting Championship event."
Tickets start at Dh200, and Mr Khan expects the event to sell out. The first fight is at 7pm.
