Moroccan fighter Ismail Nourdiev is preparing to face Italy’s Marvin Vettori on 3 October in UFC 332 in the US city of Salt Lake City, the latest chapter in the history of Arab fighters in the mixed martial arts organisation, which began nearly two decades ago and reached its peak when Palestinian-American Belal Muhammad became welterweight champion in 2024.
Nourdiev prepares to face Vettori in the UFC
Nourdiev, who was born in Rabat, enters the fight seeking the biggest win of his career, while his opponent Vettori has previously challenged for the middleweight title. The Moroccan is currently in his second spell with the UFC, having made his organisational debut in 2019 and recorded two wins against two defeats before returning in 2024 in the middleweight division.
Since his return, Nourdiev has beaten Bruno Silva, lost to Park Jun-young and then knocked out Ryan Loder. Those results took his overall UFC record to 4 wins and 3 defeats ahead of his expected meeting with Vettori. One of the earliest forms of Arab representation in the UFC came through Lebanon-born Mustafa al-Turk, who made his organisational debut in December 2008 against France’s Cheick Kongo.
Arab presence begins with al-Turk and Danho
Al-Turk later faced Croatia’s Mirko Cro Cop and America’s John Madsen, ending his time in the organisation with three defeats. In the heavyweight division, Syrian fighter Jarguis Danho had 3 UFC bouts. His only victory came in 2021, when he stopped Bjoran de Castro in the first round.
French fighter Mehdi Baghdad, who is of Algerian descent, also competed twice in 2016, but lost to Chris Wade and John Makdessi. Tunisia’s Mounir Lazzez made an impression from his debut in 2020, beating Abdul Razak Alhassan by decision in a fight that received a Fight of the Night bonus. Lazzez had 4 UFC bouts in total, recording two wins and two defeats.
That same year, Jordan’s Ali AlQaisi made his organisational debut, but lost both fights against Irwin Rivera and Tony Kelley. These early campaigns represented scattered stages of Arab involvement before the pool of participants expanded and names emerged that moved close to contention in different divisions. Moroccan fighters became one of the main sources of this presence, beginning with brothers Abu Azaitar and Ottman Azaitar.
Moroccan fighters expand their presence in the organisation
Abu made his organisational debut in 2018, beating Vitor Miranda by decision before losing his next two fights. Ottman opened his career with two successive knockout victories before suffering three defeats. Moroccan fighter Youssef Zalal’s UFC career has unfolded in two spells, with the first running from 2020 to 2022 before his return to the organisation in 2024.
After returning, Zalal put together a winning run against Billy Quarantillo, Jean Silva, Jack Shore, Calvin Kattar and Josh Emmett, rising in the featherweight division. Zalal’s run ended against former bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling in April 2026, but he retained his place in the featherweight rankings.
Albazi takes Iraqi presence into the upper rankings
That same year, Moroccan Marwan Rahiki joined the new generation, winning his first two fights before losing to Tommy McMillen in September. From Iraq, Amir Albazi produced one of the most successful Arab campaigns in the organisation, opening his career in 2020 with five successive victories in the flyweight division.
The most notable was his split-decision victory over New Zealand’s Kai Kara-France in his first main event in 2023, a result that moved him up the division rankings. Albazi’s winning run ended against Mexico’s Brandon Moreno in 2024, before he lost to Japan’s Kyoji Horiguchi in February 2026. Despite the two defeats, the Iraqi fighter remained in the flyweight rankings.
Hamdy Abd El Wahab entered the organisation’s records in 2022 as the first Egyptian fighter to compete in the UFC, drawing on a wrestling background that had taken him to the Olympic Games. Abd El Wahab won his debut against Don’Tale Mayes by decision, but the result was later changed to “no contest” after he failed a drugs test.
After returning to competition, Abd El Wahab recorded wins over Jamal Pogues and Chris Barnett, alongside a defeat by Mohammed Usman, continuing his heavyweight campaign after the incident that overturned the result of his first bout. The biggest Arab achievement came through Belal Muhammad, who was born in Chicago to Palestinian parents.
Muhammad held the title until May 2025, when he lost it to Australia’s Jack Della Maddalena, before suffering defeats by Ian Machado Garry and Gabriel Bonfim. Palestinian representation expanded after Belal Muhammad’s achievement with the emergence of Abdul-Kareem Al-Selwady, Abdoul Hussein and Sean Sharaf.
Al-Selwady, known as “The Pride of Palestine”, lost his first fight to Loik Radzhabov before recording his first victory over Shem Rock in March 2026. Abdoul Hussein, who was born in Beirut to a family of Palestinian refugees, made a successful start to his career by submitting Cody Gibson in the third round of their fight last July.
Palestinian-American Sean Sharaf also recorded a rapid victory over Olympic wrestling champion Gable Steveson, stopping him just 12 seconds after their fight began at UFC 331 on 19 September. It was Sean Sharaf’s first victory after losing his opening two bouts.
Nourdiev’s meeting with Vettori comes less than two weeks after that victory, continuing the sequence of Arab appearances in the organisation, while the Moroccan fighter seeks to add a fifth UFC win at the expense of an opponent who has previously reached a middleweight title fight.
