Ilir Latifi
| Ilir Latifi | |
|---|---|
| Born |
July 28, 1983 Malmö, Sweden |
| Other names | The Sledgehammer The Bricklayer Lyftkranen från Rosengård |
| Nationality | Swedish |
| Ethnicity | Albanian |
| Height | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) |
| Weight | 205 lb (93 kg; 14.6 st) |
| Division |
Light Heavyweight (2009-current) Heavyweight (2008) |
| Reach | 73 in (185 cm) |
| Fighting out of | Malmö, Sweden |
| Team | Allstars Training Center Pancrase Gym Sweden American Top Team Malmö Tigers (Wrestling) |
| Trainer | Andreas Michael Selman Berisha |
| Wrestling | Swedish national level |
| Years active | 2008–present |
| Mixed martial arts record | |
| Total | 18 |
| Wins | 12 |
| By knockout | 5 |
| By submission | 4 |
| By decision | 3 |
| Losses | 5 |
| By knockout | 3 |
| By decision | 2 |
| No contests | 1 |
| Other information | |
| Notable relatives | Arben Latifi (brother) |
| Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog | |
Ilir Latifi (Albanian pronunciation: [ɪˈlɪɾ lɒˈtcifi]; can be written as Illir Latyiphi; born July 28, 1983) is a Swedish mixed martial artist who competes in the Light Heavyweight division of the UFC. A two-time national wrestling champion, and a professional MMA competitor since 2008, Latifi has spent the bulk of his MMA career fighting in second-tier and regional promotions, such as Shark Fights and Rumble of The Kings, but has also had experience in the GLORY. As of 8 March 2016, he is ranked #13 in the light heavyweight division by the UFC.
With a considerable number of wrestlers in his family, Latifi began wrestling at a young age. Latifi continued to wrestle in order to pursue his dream of one day being world champion. In 2005, he began to follow in his older brother's footsteps by training MMA as a result of his dissatisfaction with the constant rule changes in wrestling. Latifi competed at the 2005 ADCC European trials, where his division was won by Alistair Overeem, but he did not earn a spot at the 2005 ADCC championships. Although Latifi did not compete at the 2009 ADCC European Trials, he was invited to the 2009 ADCC Championships, where he lost in the first round to Alexandre Ribeiro via points (2-0).
His first professional MMA fight was in 2008 with the Real Pain Challenge promotion against future Bellator fighter and WSOF Heavyweight champion Blagoi Ivanov. However, the fight was ruled a no contest 55 seconds into the first round, as Latifi drove Ivanov into one of the posts on the ring and destroyed it.
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