Kurdish UFC fighter wins on sports largest stage in Liverpool
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — Kurdish-born Makwan Amirkhani's scored a co-main event victory over American Jason Knight at Ultimate Fighting Championship Fight Night 130 in Liverpool, England.
Amirkhani hadn't fought for 435 days and was overwhelmed with emotion after the win.
"I had my family there, my friends..." Amirkhani told reporters at a press conference after the fight. "So yeah, it was emotional, and I'm the happiest person on the planet."
During the three-round fight, Amirkhani (14-3 MMA, 4-1 UFC) prevailed over veteran US fighter Jason Knight (20-5 MMA, 4-4 UFC). The two provided the crowd with verbal exchanges in addition to a close match.
Knight took the first round 27-30, but Amirkhani (177 cm, 5-foot-10 / 65 kg, 145 pounds) won the second and third rounds 29-28, 29-28.
Amirkhani's boxing was described as "crisp on the feet, and he continued to taunt his opponent after busting up his nose," MMA Junkie wrote.
The 29-year-old native of Kermanshah took the fight after a long layoff to improve his striking. He had been known for his ground game.
“I can’t say that I don’t have skills, because I do,” Amirkhani told MMA Junkie. “There’s nobody that I can’t beat, it’s just up to me [with] how I train and how hard. Not that people [who] were expecting too much of me, they weren’t wrong, I just needed more time. But I think the time is now.”
Under the nickname “Mr Finland,” Amirkhani fights out of Turku. He spent four months prior to this fight at SBG Ireland training camp in Ireland.
Amirkhani is unranked in the UFC's Featherweight Division due in part to the layoff.
“(Expletive) him,” Amirkhani told MMA Junkie before the fight. “I don’t give a (expletive) if it’s Jason or whoever it is. The guy that is against me is in my way and I just have to eliminate him.”
After the win over 24th-ranked Knight, Amirkhani was confident saying he was open to challenging fifth-ranked Cub Swanson (10-5 UFC, 25-9 MMA).
"Let's see who is the next victim," said Amirkhani.