Team Nogueira Dubai emerge winners on a historic night for grappling in the UAE

Local heroes Team Nogueira Dubai won the QUINTET 5 team event on a thrilling night of grappling action featuring combat sports legends, world-class athletes, and an electric crowd at Coca-Cola Arena.

It was the first time the Japan-based QUINTET promotion had been in the Middle East and the Dubai crowd was not left disappointed after a fascinating night left the home-town team standing tall.

The four outfits competing in the unique team survival format were coached by four combat sport legends in Kazushi Sakuraba (Team Saku), Renzo Gracie (Team Gracie), Bob Sapp (Team Bangtao), and Antonia Rodrigo Nogueira (Team Nogueira Dubai).

The five-man teams competed in a bracket format with Team Saku Japan taking on Team Renzo Gracie, and Team Bangtao Thailand facing Team Nogueira Dubai in Round One.

One fighter from each team started the match, with the only route to victory being submission. No submission in the allotted round time meant both fighters were eliminated. The winner stayed on to face a new member of the opposition, with this happening until all fighters from one team were eliminated.

In the opening match it was Team Saku Japan captain Igor Tanabe who was the hero. He entered as the fifth fighter for his team, as they faced a 1-0 deficit to Team Renzo Gracie – but stunning submissions of Andre Luiz and Delson Henelo put his team through to the next and final round.

In Match 2 of Round 1, it was an incredibly even matchup with no fighters finding an elusive submission. At the end of the match the referee awarded the win to Team Nogueira Dubai.

Before the night, fans were told to expect fireworks and Round Two (the Final) certainly delivered them.

Team Nogueira Dubai took the lead when Nikolay Vetrov picked up a submission win over Taisei Sakuraba by heel hook. Up stepped Round One star Tanabe for Team Saku Japan but neither he nor Vetrov could find a submission and were both eliminated.

The ever-popular Haisam Rida then levelled the scores with a submission win over Mido Mohamed, and with no further submissions, it came down to the two last fighters on each side. Daisuke Nakamura fought gallantly against Team Nogueira’s ‘Final Boss’ Pouya Rahmani but finally succumbed to submission through elbow dislocation in the final second.

It was a spectacular end to a historic night, and a popular overall victory for the Dubai-based team. The evening also saw super-fight single matches, where there were wins for Samuel Ramalho, Ahmad Al Bossairy, and Pablo Aragao.

Regional promoter for QUINTET 5, Tarek Suleiman said: “I am incredibly proud to have been able to help bring QUINTET to the Middle East for the first time, and thank the organization and Mr Sakuraba for entrusting us with this event. What we saw tonight was the very best grapplers in the world putting on a show for the fans and showcasing their talent to a global audience. Every fight, from the singles matches to the team contests, had me on the edge of my seat, and hats off to the fighters who left it all out there for the fans – and a massive congratulations to Team Nogueira Dubai on a hard-fought, but well-deserved victory.

“All week I have said that QUINTET is not just here visiting, I want this to become a huge part of the fight calendar in Dubai, the UAE, and the wider Middle East. Our plans are ambitious, but we want to show the world the talent we have in this region, and QUINTET is the perfect platform for that. Tonight was incredible – but now I am super-excited to see what the next chapter brings.”