ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — Two Kurds competed in the world's premier mixed martial arts (MMA) organization on Saturday in Stockholm, Sweden — one winning, one losing — while a third’s opponent pulled out of his fight due to injury.
Makwan Amirkhani (15-3-0) defeated Chris Fishgold (18-3-1) by submission in the second round of a featherweight division fight during the Ultimate Fight Championship (UFC) Fight Night 153.
“I’m so happy for me, for Finland, for Kurdistan — happiest moment of my life at the moment,” Amirkhani said on the ESPN-televised live broadcast after the fight with the Englishman. After the win he was draped in a flag that was half Finnish and Kurdish.
It was the Kurd's first fight since May of last year. He was won six of his last seven fights after battling back from an injury.
Amirkhani, 30, grew up in Finland but hails from Kermanshah, the largest Kurdish city in western Iran (Rojhelat). He and his family fled the country at the tail end of Iran-Iraq war, staying in Iraq’s Al-Tash refugee camp. They were eventually resettled in Finland.
“As a Kurdish person, being on this stage means a lot to the Kurdish people. I think in the future we will see a lot of Kurdish super stars, in MMA, and in anything”, Amirkhani said.
Only a week after signing a contract for his first UFC fight, Rostem Akman (6-1-0), competed against Russian Khandozhko (26-5-1). He went the distance, but lost on points in his UFC debut by unanimous decision.
By UD... Khandozk! #UFCStockholm pic.twitter.com/2t8CtsLpZN
— UFC (@ufc) June 1, 2019
Akman, 27, was born in the Kurdish city of Mardin, Turkey. Akman now lives in Stockholm.
A third Kurd, Volkan Oezdemir (15-4-0), was also set to compete in Saturday’s event, but his match was canceled on Thursday after his opponent Swedish light heavyweight Ilir Latifi (14-6-0, 1 NC) suffered a back injury and withdrew.
Oezdemir, 29, was looking to get back in the column after three-straight losses. He was born in Fribourg, Switzerland, to a Swiss mother and a Kurdish father, from the Erzincan province in northeastern Turkey.
Mixed martial arts (MMA) has been gaining traction among Kurds and in Kurdistan in recent years.
MMA is a full contact sport, combining techniques from combat sports, several standing and ground martial arts. Fights — three, 5-minute rounds or five for championship bouts, are won by referee stoppage, knockout, technical knockout, submission or by judges’ decision.
The UFC is the largest and most prominent MMA organization in the world. The highly-publicized events provide Kurdish athletes in the diaspora a platform to showcase their skills and often to speak out about their homeland and display the Flag of Kurdistan.
Kurds, numbering over 40 million, are the largest ethnic group without a country in the Middle East. They inhabit Turkey, Iran, Iraq, and Syria — countries where minority, political, and cultural rights have been historically suppressed.
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