Makwan Amirkhani
| Makwan Amirkhani | |
|---|---|
| Born |
November 8, 1988 Kermanshah, Kurdistan |
| Other names | Mr. Finland |
| Residence | Turku, Finland |
| Nationality | Finnish |
| Ethnicity | Kurdish |
| Height | 5 ft 11 in (180 cm) |
| Weight | 145 lb (66 kg; 10 st 5 lb) |
| Division | Featherweight |
| Reach | 72.0 in (183 cm) |
| Style | Greco-Roman wrestling, Freestyle wrestling, Muay Thai, Submission wrestling |
| Team |
SBG Ireland Turku Muay Thai |
| Years active | 2010–present |
| Mixed martial arts record | |
| Total | 16 |
| Wins | 13 |
| By knockout | 1 |
| By submission | 9 |
| By decision | 3 |
| Losses | 3 |
| By submission | 1 |
| By decision | 2 |
| Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog | |
Makwan Amirkhani (born November 8, 1988) is an Kurdish mixed martial artist competing in the featherweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Amirkhani is best known for his first round 8 second knockout on Andy Ogle which is one of the fastest knockouts in UFC history.
A Kurd born in the Kurdish region of Iran, Amirkhani moved with his family to Finland as a small child in the aftermath of the Iran–Iraq War. Like many other young kids in Finland, he hails from an amateur wrestling background, having trained since the age of four, and won numerous titles in both the styles of Greco-Roman and Freestyle wrestling.
Despite growing up in Finland, Amirkhani remains proud of his Kurdish heritage. At a June 2015 weigh-in to his fight, he held a Kurdistan flag aloft as he stood on the scales. He also frequently posts in support for the Peshmerga on his social media accounts. He also holds the Kurdish flag during weigh ins in the UFC. Makwan is proud of where he is from and most of his fan base are Kurds.
Amirkhani began training in mixed martial arts at the age of 16 and had his first professional fight in 2010. Competing on the regional circuit solely in Finland, he compiled a record of 10–2, with eight finishes, all by submission and all in the first round, before signing with the UFC in December 2014.
Amirkhani made his promotional debut against Andy Ogle on January 24, 2015 at UFC on Fox 14. He won the fight via TKO only 8 seconds into the first round. He also earned a Performance of the Night bonus.
Amirkhani was briefly linked to a bout with Diego Rivas on June 20, 2015 at UFC Fight Night 69. However, shortly after the bout was announced, Rivas was pulled from the fight due to undisclosed reasons and replaced by Masio Fullen. Amirkhani won the fight by submission due to a rear naked choke in the first round.
...
Wikipedia