Iranians in MMA

[Rooyintan]

So when is actually going to have his first fight? I am pretty sure that he can become champion one day. Fighters with wrestling background show that they are superior to others.

Not really sure. There is a UFC event in UAE in September. I wonder if he will be a getting a fight in that event!

[Philosophy_King]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FQxlBetgQmA

Interview with Amir Aliakbari. Didnt know that he is Azari (referring to himself sadly as Tork instead of Azari in the Interview from 25:15-25:25)

[Team Melli Fan]

Kianzad fighting in UFC 239 early prelims this Saturday

[The Farbod]

Not really sure. There is a UFC event in UAE in September. I wonder if he will be a getting a fight in that event!

He might. Depends on when his 6 month program with USADA finishes. Hopefully he started it in time for him to join that event. Perfect place for his debut.

[caligula]

i apologize if this was posted already.

[beri486]

This looks like a good fight!

[EKBATAN]

Ohhh shit K1 still around? I remember some of the craziest knockouts back in the days

[DJPedram]

When is Aliakbari's next UFC fight?

[Foolad Khuzestan]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FQxlBetgQmA

Interview with Amir Aliakbari. Didnt know that he is Azari (referring to himself sadly as Tork instead of Azari in the Interview from 25:15-25:25)

Its not sad, sad is that you mention something like that. Is it sad when a bakhtiari says he is lor instead of saying he is bakhtiari ?
The iranian azaris are very proud of beeing torks, and they are torks whats the matter ?

[Foolad Khuzestan]

Aliakbari wont fight very soon i guess, he knows UFC is no bullshit like ACA, you come as a ready complete fighter which he isnt, or you get murdered.

Ive never seen him doing BJJ for example.

[Rooyintan]

I tried to search for all Iranians who fought in UFC, this is what I could find. Were there any other fighters?

Current

Pannie Kianzad (SWE) 0-1-0, BANTAMWEIGHT, Debut: 6 Jul 2019;

Suman Mokhtarian (AUS) 0-1-0, FEATHERWEIGHT, Debut: 1 Dec 2018;

Nad Narimani (ENG) 2-1-0, FEATHERWEIGHT, Debut: 22 Jul 2018;

Makwan Amirkhani (FIN) 5-1-0, FEATHERWEIGHT, Debut: 24 Jan 2015;

Beneil Dariush (USA) 10-4-1, LIGHTWEIGHT, Debut: 15 Jan 2014;


Former


Ashkan Mokhtarian (AUS) 0-2-0, FLYWEIGHT, Debut: 10 Jun 2017 Last: 18 Nov 2017;

Reza Madadi (SWE) 3-4-0, LIGHTWEIGHT, Debut: 14 Apr 2012 Last: 28 May 2017;

Sirwan Kakai (SWE) 1-1-0, BANTAMWEIGHT, Debut: 27 Jun 2015 Last: 8 Aug 2015;

Akira Corassani (SWE) 3-3-0, FEATHERWEIGHT, Debut: 29 Sep 2012 Last: 24 Jan 2015;

Amir Sadollah (USA) 6-5-0, WELTERWEIGHT, Debut: 21 Jun 2008 Last: 20 Sep 2014;

Kamal Shalorus (USA) 0-3-0, LIGHTWEIGHT, Debut: 19 Mar 2011 Last: 15 May 2012;

[Philosophy_King]

Its not sad, sad is that you mention something like that. Is it sad when a bakhtiari says he is lor instead of saying he is bakhtiari ?
The iranian azaris are very proud of beeing torks, and they are torks whats the matter ?

Well your comparison has an issue: Being Lor is a more abstract category than being Bakhtiari, since all Bakhtiari belonging to the Lor-speaking group but not vice versa.
Therefore if an Bakhtiari refers to himself as Lor ( the Upper-Category where Bakhtiaris belonging to next to other group of people.) its only equivalent in this context would be if an Azari refers to himself as an Iranian, since Azaris are Iranians. (Your Reasoning only makes sense to me, if you view Azari as Turkic-People, which is linguistically correct but not in terms of Culture and Genetics. But since you wrote "Iranian Azari" i am assuming that you consider them too, to be iranic-People and therefore my issue with your comparison as mentioned above.)

But lets keep this simply Aristotelian logic away, i have no problem when Iranians specify their identity by saying that they are Bakhtiari, Kord, Balouch or Azari. But my issue with Aliakbari was, that he wasn't refer to himself as Azari, he was saying Tork ( means Turk), which sounds like he doesn't belong to Iranians. My "over-sensitization" on that topic has its root in the fact that some Azari-Iranian have great separatist tendencies and identifying themselves with Turkey and Azerbaijan instead of Iran. I was shocked when i saw Azari Tractorsazi-Fans making Bozkurt Chants, Anti-Persian Propaganda in the Stadium and made the pan-turkistic grew wolve salute. We need more than ever unity within our country and a feeling that we are all Iranians and that Lor, Azari, Balouchi, Kord, Turkaman, Qashqai, Mazandarani, Pars etc. are beautiful flowers of the same garden, beautiful patterns of the same carpet.

[Foolad Khuzestan]

I tried to search for all Iranians who fought in UFC, this is what I could find. Were there any other fighters?

Current

Pannie Kianzad (SWE) 0-1-0, BANTAMWEIGHT, Debut: 6 Jul 2019;

Suman Mokhtarian (AUS) 0-1-0, FEATHERWEIGHT, Debut: 1 Dec 2018;

Nad Narimani (ENG) 2-1-0, FEATHERWEIGHT, Debut: 22 Jul 2018;

Makwan Amirkhani (FIN) 5-1-0, FEATHERWEIGHT, Debut: 24 Jan 2015;

Beneil Dariush (USA) 10-4-1, LIGHTWEIGHT, Debut: 15 Jan 2014;


Former


Ashkan Mokhtarian (AUS) 0-2-0, FLYWEIGHT, Debut: 10 Jun 2017 Last: 18 Nov 2017;

Reza Madadi (SWE) 3-4-0, LIGHTWEIGHT, Debut: 14 Apr 2012 Last: 28 May 2017;

Sirwan Kakai (SWE) 1-1-0, BANTAMWEIGHT, Debut: 27 Jun 2015 Last: 8 Aug 2015;

Akira Corassani (SWE) 3-3-0, FEATHERWEIGHT, Debut: 29 Sep 2012 Last: 24 Jan 2015;

Amir Sadollah (USA) 6-5-0, WELTERWEIGHT, Debut: 21 Jun 2008 Last: 20 Sep 2014;

Kamal Shalorus (USA) 0-3-0, LIGHTWEIGHT, Debut: 19 Mar 2011 Last: 15 May 2012;

Amirkhani isnt iranian he is kurdish and represents Kurdistan, Dariush isnt iranian and represents Assyrians, Akira is iranian but likes to be counted as azerbaijani .... never said he is iranian in his ufc time

[Rooyintan]

Amirkhani isnt iranian he is kurdish and represents Kurdistan, Dariush isnt iranian and represents Assyrians, Akira is iranian but likes to be counted as azerbaijani .... never said he is iranian in his ufc time

Well they are all Iran-born or their parents were born in Iran. From the list only Madadi and Kianzad occasionally fly the tricolor Iranian flag. The rest only represent USA, Sweden, Australia, England, Finland flags or other flags as you said Assyria and Kurdistan.

[Philosophy_King]

Amirkhani isnt iranian he is kurdish and represents Kurdistan, Dariush isnt iranian and represents Assyrians, Akira is iranian but likes to be counted as azerbaijani .... never said he is iranian in his ufc time

Man, there we go when i am saying that our country badly need what we call "Farhangsazi"; i didn't know about the guy (Makwan Amirkhani) and just search about him in google. Indeed he identifies himself as Kurd and proudly raise the Kurdistan Flag in multiple occasions. He reminded me on a good friend of mine who was born too in the Iranian province of Kurdistan and boldly claimed that Kurds are different from Iranians ( self-contradiction, since Kurds are Iranians, most probably descendens of the ancient Medes) and continue to say that Zartosht is an Kurd and Farvahar a Kurdish Symbol etc. He couldn't speak Persian either which was strange to me, since its nice to speak the language of your Family but you should also be able to communicated with other people living in that country...It took me half of my cells to explain this dude, that the various Kurdish languages belong to the western branch of the Iranian-language group (just like Persians do), that Nouruz is not specific Kurdish Tradition, that the Persians had stolen, but an notion, that even predates Zartoshts lifetime, that Zarthosht is not a Kurd but an Avestan (belonging to the eastern branch of Iranian-language group) and finally that Iranian doesn't mean Persian since there are many group of people belonging to this ethnicity who are not Persian.
Man i am truly pessimistic about Irans Future and i am not speaking about politics, but about the culture...
It makes me so sad, how Iranian Society lacks basic knowledge about their History and Identity.