Pakistan's Maliha Ali topples Russia's Drozdova at MMA world championships

Russia arrived at the IMMAF World Championships in Tbilisi, Georgia, with more than 60 athletes, government backing and one of the best-funded programmes in the sport. On Tuesday, a 24-year-old from Hunza, Gilgit-Baltistan, beat one of them.

Maliha Ali defeated Veronika Drozdova, a two-time European champion and, at 19, by split decision in their featherweight (65.8kg) bout at the world championships of amateur mixed martial arts.

Maliha, who is also a wushu champion and a national kickboxing gold medallist, came into the tournament off a silver medal at the IMMAF World Cup in Angola earlier this year.

The fight was won early and nearly lost late.

Fighting from a southpaw stance, Maliha started cautiously before closing the distance and pinning the Russian against the cage. She landed clean strikes to finish the opening round strongly, though Drozdova found a couple of overhand lefts.

Maliha dominated the second. She secured a takedown, taking the fight to the floor, and moved into full mount, sitting astride her opponent’s torso, to land heavy blows from the top.

But she had spent much of her energy in those two rounds and appeared to tire in the third, where Drozdova took her down and controlled the action on the ground.

The round went to the Russian, but the first two belonged to Maliha. The judges agreed.

When the final bell rang, she stood with her arms raised, not in certainty, but in hope.

When her name was announced, Maliha let out a roar. Omar Ahmed, president of the Pakistan MMA Federation, leapt with joy from her corner.

She hugged her opponent, then dropped to the mat in prostration, the Pakistan flag draped over her shoulders: a moment of faith and gratitude after a hard-fought battle.

“I was listening to the corner and the coach’s instructions during the fight,” Maliha told Dawn. “We worked on our opponent’s game plan, how she fights, and executed our strategy. And thankfully it worked.”

Omar said the federation held a six-week camp and brought in an international jiu-jitsu and grappling coach after spotting weaknesses during Maliha’s silver-medal run in Angola earlier this year.

“There were some holes in their game which we spotted during the event in Angola,” Omar told Dawn. “The coach worked on the mistakes that she made during her previous fights, and we saw the improvement today.”

He acknowledged the disparity in resources between the two nations.

“Russia has one of the most well-funded MMA programs,” Omar said. “Compared to them, we are the most underfunded and probably the least-resourced federation competing in this event because of the sports policy in Pakistan. But still, we manage to eke out victories against such formidable opponents.”

For Omar, each victory against the odds carries a deeper meaning.

“Watching our fighters win against such tough opponents brings me joy which I cannot put into words,” he added. “We come from almost nothing; the only thing we have is our grit and desire to succeed, and I guess that’s what matters at the end of the day.”

It is a familiar position for the federation. Pakistan’s campaign at last year’s championships, also held in Tbilisi, was reported to be entirely self-funded through private sponsorship, with no government money.

Maliha faces Mexico’s Andrea Gabriela Guzman Salazar in the quarter-finals on Wednesday. Her twin sister Manesha, who won gold in Luanda earlier this year, fights Poland’s Martyna Caruk on the same day. Both are chasing world titles.