...OH, ONE MORE THING - PLEASE BOOKMARK US & VISIT DAILY!
By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief
Ramsey Nijem had one of the best performances on his career Friday night, earning a "Performance of the Night" bonus along the way for his relentless beat down against Beneil Dariush.
It was a major moment for the Palestinian-American to fight in the United Arab Emirates, and he said after the fight that he approached it as one of the most important fights of his career.
"I really approached this fight like it was my title fight," Nijem said after the fight (via MMAJunkie.com). "It was really important for me being Palestinian-American and coming to the U.A.E. and fighting. At first, I was nervous about stepping up and being a representation for it. It's a lot of pressure, and it can really weigh on you as an athlete. But I really understand the role, and I really want to represent the Palestinian people, the Arab people, U.A.E., this whole continent of the Middle East in a good light."
"In the news, you always see negative and this and that and fighting war. I want to show that we're more, that we accomplish things, and that we're a really strong people."
Nijem handled the pressure well, and handed an undefeated fighter his first career loss in the process. It may be hard to appreciate just what he was feeling into the event, but he did his best to convey where he was entering the bout.
"My dad called me the other night, and he was crying on the phone. It really means a lot to my family," Nijem explained. "A lot of people don't understand the heavy weight of being a refugee and growing up in the States and all this. It definitely was an amazing scene."
"My dad and my family couldn't be more proud. They called me and said, 'Whether you win or lose, we're just proud of you,' so I took that momentum and that love and that support and just really brought it into the fight. I tried not to let the emotions get the best of me. They haven't really sunk in yet, so maybe a little bit later tonight."
PENICK'S ANALYSIS: This was clearly a meaningful event and fight for Nijem, and good on him for not letting that pressure get to him. He really did have one of his best career performances, and did so against a talented - if unproven - fighter in Dariush. It would be nice to see him put together some consistent performances like that, as he's always shown promise, but this was certainly a nice start to another streak if that's what it becomes.
(Note to iPhone Safari users: To return to main menu listing, do a quick downswipe to make the back button visible on the bottom of your screen or just click on the MMATorch logo above to return to the main listing page.)
DON'T GO YET... WE SUGGEST THESE MMATORCH ARTICLES, TOO!
Jamie Penick, editor-in-chief
(mmatorcheditor@gmail.com)
STAFF COLUMNISTS: Shawn Ennis - Jason Amadi
Frank Hyden - Rich Hansen
Chris Park - Matt Pelkey
Interested in joining MMATorch's writing team? Send idea for a theme to your column (for Specialist section) or area of interest (i.e. TV Reporter) along with a sample of writing to mmatorch@gmail.com.