Local fighters ready to inspire as line-up announced for QUINTET5 Dubai

World-class local fighters are being joined by some of the planet’s greatest grapplers as the line-up for QUINTET5 is confirmed.

UAE-based fighters such as Thiago Sa, Talison Soares, Pouya Rahmani and Haitham Rida will take centre stage at the Coca-Cola Arena on October 23 when one of the most innovative and exciting formats in martial arts makes its Middle East debut in Dubai.

QUINTET is a team survival format, with each team consisting of five fighters.  One fighter from each team will start the match, with the only route to victory being submission. The winner stays on, and a new opponent from the other team steps up.

If a match ends in a draw, then both competitors are eliminated. This continues until one team is completely eliminated with all five fighters defeated, and the other is declared the winner.

In addition to this exciting format, fans will see four legends of martial arts captaining the teams in Dubai. The event will see the reunion of four of PRIDE FC’s biggest stars. Kazushi Sakuraba (the founder of QUINTET), Renzo Gracie, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, and Bob Sapp.

The team breakdowns in full; Team Sakuraba: Haisam Rida, Igor Tanabe, Taisei Sakuraba, Daisuke Nakamuraa, Oshima Sōsuke

Team Gracie: Talison Soares, Delson Heleno, Neiman Gracie, Diego Freire, Anderson Wesiley

Team Nogueira: Pouya Rahmani, Abdelraouf Mido, Vetrov Nicolay, Thiago Sá, Zeliman Kashaev. Team Bangtao: Kemoy Anderson, Lucas Barbosa, Alex Schild, Dong Hyun Kim, PJ Barch.

On the night, the teams will compete in a bracket format with two semi-finals, and a final to crown the overall winner. There will also be a number of high-profile individual bouts. 

Team Sakuraba and Team Gracie will face-off in one semi-final, while Team Bangtao will take on Team Nogueira in the other.

Team Nogueira’s Thiago Sa is the head coach at the Team Nogueira gym in Dubai – an outstanding facility with close to 2000 members. Originally from Brazil, but living in Dubai for the last seven years, he says he can’t wait to fight in front of his ‘home’ fans.

He said: “For years people have been saying they want to see me compete here, and now is the right time. QUINTET is an incredible event, and an opportunity I am very excited about. The people of Dubai are in for an amazing show, and I hope it can inspire more people to understand and love the world of grappling and combat sport.”

Regional promoter for the event, Tarek Suleiman said the quality of the competitors is outstanding.

He said: “You cannot underestimate just how good this group of fighters is. We have four teams packed with talent that is the envy of the world. We have multiple world champions, regional champions, and those who have competed at the highest levels in the biggest organizations. I am hugely proud that we also have incredible local talent within these teams. The Middle East is constantly growing when it comes to combat sports, and seeing these guys on a stage like QUINTET will only inspire people in the region. This is going to be an unforgettable night – and one that can inspire even more growth in Middle East combat sport.”