Amir Albazi (born October 27, 1993) is an Iraqi

mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, incorp ...

who competes in the

Flyweight Flyweight is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing Flyweight is a class in boxing which includes fighters weighing above 49 kg (108 lb) and up to 51 kg (112 lb). Professional boxing The flyweight division was the last of bo ...

division of the

UFC The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...

. As of December 19, 2022, he is #7 in the UFC flyweight rankings.

Early life

Amir was born in

Baghdad Baghdad (; ar, بَغْدَاد , ) is the capital of Iraq and the second-largest city in the Arab world after Cairo. It is located on the Tigris near the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon and the Sassanid Persian capital of Ctesiphon ...

. When he was seven years old, he fled Baghdad in the middle of the night and went to

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

, his family then went to

Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...

, where Amir saw his father for the first time since he was a toddler. The family stayed in Syria for a year and a half, before moving to

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

. Amir's family settled in

Bredäng Bredäng is a suburb of Stockholm, Sweden. In the southwest section of the city, it is a part of the Skärholmen borough and is named after a former farm in the area. Bredäng has an 18th-century mansion (''Jakobsbergs gård'') named after its f ...

, a district in

Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...

in which immigrants and refugees made up 60% of the population. Amir got into a lot of fights and trouble as a kid, and ended up joining a street gang as a teen. His interest in mixed martial arts happened overnight, as he once watched an old UFC fight on television, having been impressed by this new type of professional fighting, Amir looked up the cheapest MMA gym and signed up the next day. Albazi moved to London in 2013, and graduated from

University of Roehampton The University of Roehampton, London, formerly Roehampton Institute of Higher Education, is a public university in the United Kingdom, situated on three major sites in Roehampton, in the London Borough of Wandsworth. Roehampton was formerly an e ...

with a degree in

sports science Sports science is a discipline that studies how the healthy human body works during exercise, and how sport and physical activity promote health and performance from cellular to whole body perspectives. The study of sports science traditionally inc ...

Career

Amir's first fight came in the World Ultimate Full Contact 15, he defeated Pavlo Kulish in 59 seconds by making him submit. He went on an 8 bout win streak to start his MMA career before moving to Bellator, where he extended that streak to 10 bouts after defeating Jamie Powell and Iurie Bejenari. Amir's first loss came in the Middle eastern promotion Brave CF to Jose "Shorty" Torres. Amir rebounded from his loss by defeating Ryan Curtis in BRAVE CF 29.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Albazi made his UFC debut on short notice on July 18, 2020 against Malcolm Gordon at UFC Fight Night: Figueiredo vs. Benavidez 2. Amir defeated Gordon by submission inside 4 minutes and 42 seconds of the first round. Albazi was expected to face

Raulian Paiva Raulian Paiva Frazão (born 17 October 1995) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist who competes in the Bantamweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Background Paiva was born and raised Santana, Amapá, Brazil where he still tra ...

on October 31, 2020, at UFC Fight Night: Hall vs. Silva. However, Paiva pulled out of the fight on 11 September citing a knee injury and Albazi was removed from the card. Amir was then scheduled to face

Zhalgas Zhumagulov Zhalgas Mukhambet (born August 29, 1988) better known as Zhalgas Zhumagulov, is a retired Kazakh mixed martial artist who competed in the Flyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Mixed martial arts career Early career Zhumagulov ...

at UFC on ESPN: Smith vs. Clark on November 28, 2020, but Zhumagulov pulled out due to

visa Visa most commonly refers to: *Visa Inc., a US multinational financial and payment cards company ** Visa Debit card issued by the above company ** Visa Electron, a debit card ** Visa Plus, an interbank network *Travel visa, a document that allows ...

issues and the bout was rescheduled for

UFC 257 ''UFC 257: Poirier vs. McGregor 2'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on January 24, 2021 at the Etihad Arena on Yas Island, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Background Starting with ...

on January 24, 2021. Albazi won the bout via unanimous decision. He was then scheduled to face

Ode' Osbourne Ode’ Omaani Osbourne (born January 9, 1992) is a Jamaican mixed martial artist who competes in the Flyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Background Growing up in Kingston, Jamaica, Osbourne lived primarily with his grandmoth ...

at UFC on ESPN: Makhachev vs. Moisés on July 17, 2021. However, Albazi withdrew from the bout due to undisclosed reasons. Albazi was next scheduled to face

Tim Elliott Timothy Samuel Elliott (born December 24, 1986) is an American mixed martial artist who currently competes in the Flyweight (MMA), Flyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). He is the former Titan FC Titan Fighting Champions ...

at UFC on ESPN: Tsarukyan vs. Gamrot on June 25, 2022. However, Elliott pulled out in mid June due to undisclosed reasons and the bout was scrapped. Albazi faced

Francisco Figueiredo Francisco Figueiredo (born October 23, 1989) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist who competed in the Flyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He is the younger brother of the two-time and former UFC Flyweight Champion Deiveson Fi ...

on August 20, 2022 at

UFC 278 ''UFC 278: Usman vs. Edwards 2'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on August 20, 2022, at Vivint Arena in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. Background The event marked the promotion' ...

. He won the bout via rear-naked choke at the end of first round. Albazi was scheduled to face Alex Perez on December 17, 2022 at

UFC Fight Night 216 ''UFC Fight Night: Cannonier vs. Strickland'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 216, UFC on ESPN+ 74'' and ''UFC Vegas 66'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on December 17, 2022, at the ...

. However, with Perez withdrawing from the fight, Albazi wound up scheduled against

Brandon Royval Brandon Matthew Royval (born August 6, 1992) is an American professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Flyweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). A professional competitor since 2012, Royval has also forme ...

instead. In late November, Royval pulled out of the bout due to a broken wrist, and was replaced by promotional newcomer Alessandro Costa. Albazi won the fight via knockout in round three.

Championships and accomplishments

*Ultimate Challenge MMA **UCMMA Bantamweight Championship (one time; former) *FightStar Championship **FSC Bantamweight Championship (one time; former)

Mixed martial arts record

, - , Win , align=center, 16–1 , Alessandro Costa , KO (punches) , UFC Fight Night: Cannonier vs. Strickland , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 2:13 ,

Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 15–1 ,

, Submission (rear-naked choke) ,

, , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:34 ,

Salt Lake City, Utah Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the Capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Utah, most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the county seat, seat of Salt Lake County, Utah, Sal ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 14–1 ,

, Decision (unanimous) ,

, , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Abu Dhabi Abu Dhabi (, ; ar, أَبُو ظَبْيٍ ' ) is the capital and second-most populous city (after Dubai) of the United Arab Emirates. It is also the capital of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi and the centre of the Abu Dhabi Metropolitan Area. ...

, United Arab Emirates , , - , Win , align=center, 13–1 , Malcolm Gordon , Submission (triangle choke) , UFC Fight Night: Figueiredo vs. Benavidez 2 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:42 ,

, United Arab Emirates , , - , Win , align=center, 12–1 , Ryan Curtis , Submission (kimura) , Brave CF 29 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:24 ,

Isa Town Isa Town ( ar, مدينة عيسى, ''Madīnat ʿĪsā'') is a middle class town located in Bahrain, in the north central part of the country. Etymology The name ''Isa'' refers to Isa ibn Salman Al Khalifah, the ruler of Bahrain from 1961 to 1999 ...

, Bahrain , , - , Loss , align=center, 11–1 , Jose Torres , Decision (unanimous) , Brave CF 23 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Amman Amman (; ar, عَمَّان, ' ; Ammonite language, Ammonite: 𐤓𐤁𐤕 𐤏𐤌𐤍 ''Rabat ʻAmān'') is the capital and largest city of Jordan, and the country's economic, political, and cultural center. With a population of 4,061,150 a ...

, Jordan , , - , Win , align=center, 11–0 , Iuri Bejenari , Submission (rear-naked choke) , Bellator 200 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:21 ,

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, England , , - , Win , align=center, 10–0 , Jamie Powell , Decision (unanimous) , Bellator 179 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, England , , - , Win , align=center, 9–0 , Dino Gambatesa , Submission (kimura) , FightStar Championship 8 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:30 ,

, England , , - , Win , align=center, 8–0 , Rafał Czechowski , Submission (rear-naked choke) , Scandinavian Fight Nights 1 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, N/A ,

Solna Solna Municipality ( sv, Solna kommun or , ) is a municipality in Stockholm County in Sweden, located just north of Stockholm City Centre. Its seat is located in the town of Solna, which is a part of the Stockholm urban area. Solna is one of t ...

, Sweden , , - , Win , align=center, 7–0 , Niko Gjoka , TKO (slam) , Ultimate Challenge MMA 44 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 2:21 ,

, England , , - , Win , align=center, 6–0 , Ondřej Moravec , TKO (punches) , Bitva Roku 2015 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:34 ,

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...

, Czech Republic , , - , Win , align=center, 5–0 , Salih Kulucan , Submission (kimura) , Ultimate Challenge MMA 41 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 2:30 ,

, England , , - , Win , align=center, 4–0 , Ally McRae , Submission (rear-naked choke) , SFC 3 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 0:00 ,

Stirling Stirling (; sco, Stirlin; gd, Sruighlea ) is a city in central Scotland, northeast of Glasgow and north-west of Edinburgh. The market town, surrounded by rich farmland, grew up connecting the royal citadel, the medieval old town with its me ...

, Scotland , , - , Win , align=center, 3–0 , Bagandov Murada , TKO (punches) , World Ultimate Full Contact 16 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:00 ,

Viseu Viseu () is a city and municipality in the Centro Region of Portugal and the capital of the district of the same name, with a population of 100,000 inhabitants, and center of the Viseu Dão Lafões intermunipical community, with 267,633 inhabita ...

, Portugal , , - , Win , align=center, 2–0 , Andre Batista , TKO (punches) , rowspan=2 , World Ultimate Full Contact 15 , rowspan=2 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:35 , rowspan=2 ,

, Portugal , , - , Win , align=center, 1–0 , Pavlo Kulish , Submission (rear-naked choke) , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:59 ,

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Albazi, Amir 1993 births Living people Iraqi male mixed martial artists Swedish male mixed martial artists Flyweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing Brazilian jiu-jitsu Iraqi practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu Swedish practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu Sportspeople from Baghdad Iraqi emigrants to Sweden Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters