Maliha Ali Wins Bronze at IMMAF World Championships Despite Controversial Semifinal Loss

Pakistan's Maliha Ali has won a bronze medal at the IMMAF World Championships in Tbilisi, Georgia, following a controversial split-decision loss to Russia's Polina Baldina in the featherweight (65.8kg) semifinals. The Pakistan MMA Federation has filed a formal appeal against the judges' decision, citing inconsistencies in scoring.

The semifinal was closely contested, with neither fighter dominating any round. Baldina appeared stronger in the second round, while the first and third were competitive. Maliha landed cleaner strikes in the final round and raised her arms at the bell, believing she had done enough. However, the judges returned conflicting scorecards: one awarded Baldina a 30-27 victory, another scored 29-28 for Maliha, and the third gave Baldina a 29-28 win.

Pakistan MMA Federation President Omar Ahmed criticized the outcome, stating that Maliha had clearly won and that Pakistan had been denied victory. The federation has submitted an appeal to the head of the IMMAF Refereeing and Judging Commission, requesting a round-by-round scoring breakdown, an explanation for the discrepancies, and a face-to-face technical review.

The federation also noted that Pakistan suffered a similar split-decision semifinal defeat at last year's championships, raising concerns about inconsistent judging explanations. Ahmed alleged that former Soviet countries tend to favor one another in judging and have significant influence over refereeing decisions. He pointed out that Russia had entered two fighters in each weight category and secured a multimillion-dollar budget through national sponsors, while Pakistan had no representatives on the judging panel.

Despite the controversy, Maliha's bronze medal is a testament to her resilience. She competed through several injuries, including a fractured toe, a severely bruised eyelid, and a partially dislocated jaw. When asked if she could continue, she told Ahmed that she fought from the heart and that her injured hands and feet were less important.

Earlier in the tournament, Maliha defeated Russia's two-time European champion Veronika Drozdova by split decision and then secured a unanimous-decision victory over Mexico's Andrea Gabriela Guzman Salazar to reach the semifinals. Her semifinal opponent, 23-year-old Baldina, had previously won a world title under another MMA federation in 2024 and had three victories en route to the final.

Meanwhile, Maliha's twin sister, Manesha Ali, also suffered a narrow split-decision defeat against Poland's Martyna Caruk in the lightweight (70.3kg) quarterfinals. Manesha had previously won gold at the IMMAF World Cup in Angola earlier this year.