Maliha Ali Wins Medal at MMA World Championship with a historic Pakistan’s Bronze Medal at the International Mixed Martial Arts Federation (IMMAF) World Championship in Tbilisi, Georgia. The 24-year-old combat sport superstar who hails from the north-eastern part of Pakistan, Hunza, Gilgit-Baltistan, impressed the rest of the world on the international stage and is now among the top emerging talents in the world of mixed martial arts.
Extraordinary Victory Journey in the Women’s Featherweight Category
Competing fiercely in the highly competitive women’s featherweight category (65.8kg), Ali began her historic podium campaign by executing a stunning upset against Russia’s two-time European champion, Veronika Drozdova. She capped off this outstanding start with a perfect unanimous decision victory over Mexico’s Andrea Gabriela Guzman Salazar in the quarter-finals. However, the Pakistani athlete was able to overcome extremely difficult physical conditions and was able to remain inside the cage to face the challenges despite having a broken toe, a bruised eye and a partially dislocated jaw.
Controversial Split-Decision Defeat and Official Appeal
Her sensational run ended in a highly controversial split decision defeat of Russia’s former world champion, Polina Baldina, in a tight down half match against her in the semi-final. The Pakistani fighter hit the target even if they landed cleaner strikes in the final round, the judges’ cards were conflicting and it resulted in a split verdict of 29-28, 29-28 and 27-30. For this purpose, Pakistan MMA Federation has submitted a detailed technical appeal to the head of the IMMAF Refereeing Commission. The sports board has demanded in no uncertain terms a full breakdown of a round and an explanation of the extreme differences in judging.
