Kooheji wins via North/South Choke in his Bantamweight debut!

Hamzah Kooheji made his long awaited and victorious come back into the cage today against the Egyptian Mohammad Mashaly winning via north/south choke 3 minutes into the 2nd round! The win also marked the successful debut of the Bahraini national in the Bantamweight division.

Kooheji employed a patient game plan against the faster striker in Mashaly during the first half of the 1st round waiting for the opportunity to shoot for the takedown. Once the opportunity presented itself, Kooheji was quick to take advantage of it and showed tremendous improvement on his grappling capabilities. He fended off a guillotine attempt before swiftly transitioning to a mounted crucifix where he landed punishing elbows until the end of the round.

The 2nd round started similar to the first one with Kooheji waiting for the opportunity to take Mashaly to the ground. He once again worked for the mounted crucifix position before transitioning the north/south choke and forcing Mashaly to tap!

The pride of Bahrain is back!