“We are proud as the administration of Soran to gather here with our administration and sports employees to greet our dear brother Mohammed. It is a source of pride for the area and administration of Soran for him to be able to reach an international level,” Rajab Zuber, Soran district mayor, told Rudaw.
Mohammed Salih has so far participated in 13 tournaments and holds five world records. His dream is to compete in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) one day.
He beat a competitor from South Africa on Friday and another from Morocco on July 28 during the AUE Warriors championship.
He takes the Kurdistan flag with himself to the tournaments.
“I have raised the Kurdistan flag in all the 13 tournaments I was in. My goal is to reach the UFC… We will go to the UFC and introduce Kurds to the world,” Salih said.
“To be able to be the first Kurd who joins a championship like the UFC would give me great pride and God willing I will not stop until I get there,” he added.
Salih’s tough childhood helped shape him into the strong fighter he is today. He found his strength from challenging children in the neighborhood or doing heavy labor with his father,
“Mohammed as a child had too much energy. He sometimes wanted to join a tournament but I could not send him. There have been other times when I have borrowed money for him to join. I took him to work with me at the age of 13 or 14. Until recently, he had been selling fava beans and turnips with me,” his father, Salih Abdullah, said.