Manama, Bahrain, August 26, 2025: Teif Alasiri is hoping the ongoing MMA development programme for coaches and referees will be a stepping stone in her bid to promote the sport among young girls back home in Saudi Arabia.
“I want to learn as much as I can about being a coach so that I can advise more girls back home to take up mixed martial arts. I want to show them that this is not a violent sport, but one with a lot of technique and strategy, and one that is good to boost self-confidence,” says Teif.
The 26-year-old Teif may not be as high-profile as compatriot Hattan Alsaif - Saudi’s first MMA female fighter, who last year made history when she became the first female from the Kingdom to sign a contract with a major MMA promoter – but she is as determined.
As a coach, Teif wants to be a pied piper and give Saudi women the chance to come out and pursue MMA passionately.
“I coach at a small club back home. We have five members, the youngest nine years and the oldest 31. I want to promote the sport and this seminar in Bahrain is an excellent opportunity for me to learn,” says Teif, who is the first Saudi woman to be internationally certified as a coach by AMMA (Asian Mixed Martial Arts Association).
In 2010 Teif left her home in Abha, a hill station near the Red Sea in southwest Saudi Arabia, to join her dad and brother in Madrid, Spain. “My father was teaching Arabic in a school and I lived in Spain for six years before returning home.”
This experience of living overseas made her more adventurous, and in 2023, she decided to take up Krav Maga, a martial art involving aikido, boxing, judo, karate and wrestling. She soon became a black belt.
Her move from Krav Maga to MMA was seamless, after all MMA also incorporates techniques from various combat sports – striking arts like boxing, Muay Thai, kickboxing, karate, taekwondo, and grappling arts like judo, wrestling and Brazilian jiu-jitsu.
The Saudi MMA Federation was formed a few years ago aligned with the rapid rise of the sport. Teif is a member, and she is thankful to the Federation for helping her and promoting women in the sport.
MMA has struck a unique chord among the youth of Saudi, attracted by its high profile on television and the thumbs-up from celebrities - at a recent PFL (Professional Fighters League) event in Riyadh, star footballer Cristiano Ronaldo was spotted in the audience.
With Saudi Arabia set to host the Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games in Riyadh next year, it’s all systems go for MMA. And Teif will be making a contribution in the background.
