UAE Warriors will crown its first-ever flyweight champion this May at UAE Warriors 50.
That title fight will see Japanese standout Yamato Fujita (11-4), a RIZIN vet on a three-fight win streak, taking on Brazil’s Iago Ribeiro (12-3) at the event on May 18, 2024.
A source familiar with the situation advised Cageside Press of the booking on Wednesday. UAE Warriors 50 does not currently have a location/venue officially announced.
Two of Fujita’s three most recent wins have come under the UAE Warriors banner, and both have come by way of guillotine choke. Most recently. the Japanese flyweight submitted Sanzhar Adilov.
Prior to his time in UAE Warriors, Fujita picked up a decision win at RIZIN 36— the same promotion where the 31-year started his career with a loss to kickboxing prodigy and occasional mixed martial artist Tenshin Nasukawa.
In 2021, Fujita picked up a flyweight title under the DEEP banner in Japan.
Iago “Pitbull” Ribeiro has won six straight bouts, and will be making his UAE Warriors debut on May 18. That win streak includes a victory over over Dana White’s Contender Series winner Juan Puerta.
UAE Warriors 50 is shaping up to be a sizeable card for the promotion, with two other title fights reported. In the main event, UAE Warriors featherweight champ Ali Alqaisi (15-7) puts his belt on the line opposite Sweden’s Samuel Bark (9-2), while undefeated Russian Shakhban Alkhasov (8-0) meets Azerbaijan’s Tahir Abdullaev (16-2) for the promotion’s vacant welterweight championship in the co-headliner. News of those bouts was first reported by MMA Junkie.
