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Tareg Hamedi is reportedly preparing to transition to mixed martial arts following the 2024 Olympic games. The Saudi Arabian karateka has signed with Ali Abdelaziz's Dominance MMA Management ahead of his upcoming move.
The mixed martial arts manager shared the news on X, stating:
"want to welcome my brother @tar.xb to the team. 2020 Olympic Silver Medalist in Karate, 4X Asian Champion, Junior World Champion, one of the biggest names in Combat Sports in the Middle East and the whole entire Muslim World, one of the biggest names in Saudi Arabia Sports,"
Check out Ali Abdelaziz's tweet on Tareg Hamedi below:
While Hamedi won an Olympic silver medal in karate, the bout was filled with controversy as many believed he was robbed of a gold medal. The Saudi Arabian karateka landed a head kick, rendering his opponent, Sajjad Ganjzadeh, unconscious. However, he was disqualified from the match because the kick was deemed too forceful. Joshua Sanchez shared the footage on X, captioning the post:
"This is so stupid lol... Saudi Arabia's Tareg Hamedi landed this spectacular kick in the gold medal match for karate... but the unconscious dude won gold because Hamedi's kick was "too forceful" and he was disqualified. #Tokyo2020 #Olympics"
Check out footage of Tareg Hamedi's knockout below:
Hamedi will return to the Olympics in 2024 in hopes of retaining a gold medal. The 25-year-old will then make his transition to mixed martial arts. However, it remains unclear where he will compete to begin his career.
Karate Combat president claimed Tareg Hamedi was robbed
Much of the international combat sports world believed Tareg Hamedi was robbed of a gold medal at the 2020 Olympic Games. Karate Combat President Adam Kovacs was among that group as he told MMA Junkie:
"In my opinion, Hamedi was robbed of a gold medal, and we are duty-bound to try and make it right, or at least to allow both of them the chance to compete against each other under full-contact rules where they can use their full repertoire. And frankly, I think karate needs this after this weekend."
Kovacs continued:
"We’re putting six-figure professional contracts behind this, but we’re also going to put an actual gold medal on the line: the same weight as an Olympic medal (500g) but solid gold. It may not have the status of an Olympic medal, but the cash value will be considerably higher." [h/t MMA Junkie]
Kovacs added that Sajjad Ganjzadeh is already under contract with Karate Combat while they looked to strike a deal with Hamedi. Despite the promotion's interest, the bout has yet to come to fruition.
