Amir Albazi: The Prince of Flyweight MMA – Record, Career Journey and 2026 UFC Form

Seven years old the night Amir Albazi’s family evacuated Baghdad in the dead of night, without telling anyone outside of the immediate home, is when the actual story begins. They packed their things and moved towards Syria. While there he reunited with his father for the first time since he was a toddler. It wouldn’t be another two years until Amir had a place to call home. But all of this is a pre-cursor to his eventual UFC Flyweight top ten status. The Iraqi mixed martial artist fights for the UFC Flyweight division and has currently been rated the 7th best Flyweight in the world as of Feb 2026. He was born in Bagdad, Oct 27, 1993, but fled as a child to Syria for year and a half before making his way to Sweden, where by the power of a randomly stumbled upon UFC rerun broadcast on tv, Amir’s life took an unexpected turn. We’ll walk through this entire journey, including Amir Albazi’s full fight record and what comes next in his career the rest of 2026.

Amir Albazi: Fighter Profile

DETAIL	INFORMATION
Full name	Amir Yahya Abdulamir Al-Bazi
Nickname	The Prince
Date of birth	27 October 1993
Age (2026)	32
Birthplace	Baghdad, Iraq
Nationality	Iraqi
Based out of	Las Vegas, Nevada (also trained extensively in Stockholm, Sweden)
Height	5 ft 5 in
Weight class	Flyweight (125 lbs)
Languages spoken	Arabic, Swedish, and English
Team / gym	Xtreme Couture
Pro MMA record	17 wins, 3 losses (6 wins by KO/TKO, 9 by submission, 3 decision losses)
UFC record	5 wins, 2 losses
Current UFC ranking	#7 (Flyweight, as of February 2026)
Stated personal interests	History, conspiracy theories, and pyramidology

From Baghdad to Bredäng: The Story Before the Cage

Amir Albazi was born in 1993 in Baghdad, Iraq. In 1999 when he was seven years old, Albazi and his family abruptly packed up in the dead of night and left the city to escape the conflict. Albazi and his family ended up in Syria, where he would see his father for the first time since he was an infant. The family then moved to Sweden approximately one year and a half later. They finally landed in the neighborhood of Bredäng in Stockholm, where roughly 60 percent of the residents were immigrant or refugee status at the time. As a child who didn’t yet speak Swedish, life was challenging and Albazi often got into fights, due in part to the communication gap but also because Albazi was the victim of xenophobic abuse as an individual who was not from Sweden. Albazi was in a street gang throughout his teenaged years; he hasn’t been shy about talking about this aspect of his life in interviews. However, everything changed one night when Albazi was watching a replay of a UFC match on TV and became immediately enthralled. He says he started to fight professionally due to his enjoyment of the competitiveness of sport which was a logical follow-up from living in chaotic, uncontrolled environment where no one had anyone else’s back, and now moving into a very controlled, structured, disciplined environment. Albazi didn’t entirely abandon academics for combat, as he went on to study sport and exercise science at London in his early professional fighting years.

Early Career: Building the Record Before the UFC

Albazi went professional in 2009. His first bout went to a finish as he defeated Pavlo Kulish via submission at World Ultimate Full Contact 15 in just 59 seconds. He kicked off his career with an eight-fight winning streak before eventually being signed by Bellator. Albazi continued this winning streak to ten with wins against Jamie Powell and Iurie Bejenari.

His first career defeat came with the Middle Eastern based promotion Brave CF against Jose “Shorty” Torres. He then rebounded with a win over Ryan Curtis at Brave CF 29 to pick up where he was at heading into the biggest challenge of his career.

Amir Albazi in the UFC: Full Fight History

Albazi’s UFC debut came on short notice on 18th July 2020, facing Malcolm Gordon at UFC Fight Night: Figueiredo vs. Benavidez 2. Albazi got the win via submission through a triangle choke in the first round with 4:42 on the clock. The win was an immediate statement for a short-notice debutant in his new promotion.

He followed this up with an all-out unanimous decision victory over Zhalgas Zhumagulov at UFC 257 in January 2021, and a first-round rear-naked choke win against Francisco Figueiredo at UFC 278 in August 2022. Following an opponents pull-out and then a substitution in order to proceed, he fought promotional debutant Alessandro Costa as an opponent replacement and recorded a knockout victory in the third round.

Albazi’s most debated outing was against Kai Kara-France on 3rd June 2023. The result was a split decision victory for Albazi, however the scoring raised eyebrows with 19 of 21 media outlet’s who had covered the fight scoring Kara-France to win the bout. Nonetheless the result is in the books as an Albazi victory but has since been brought up in many debates about the flyweights title aspirations.

This win moved Albazi into the main event slot, taking on former two-time UFC flyweight champion Brandon Moreno. Originally intended to be booked prior to Albazi pulling out with a neck injury and Brandon Royval jumping in to replace him, the fight was eventually held on 2nd November 2024 at Rogers Place in Edmonton, Canada in a five round headline clash. Albazi lost to the former champion by unanimous decision, marking his first loss in the octagon and bringing momentum towards a title shot to a standstill.

He was later set to face rising contender Tatsuro Taira at UFC on ESPN 71 on 2nd August 2025, but would be forced to pull out around one week prior to the event due to injury, with Road to UFC Season 1 flyweight winner Park Hyun-sung taking his place. His most recent octagon fight took place on 7th February 2026, as Albazi faced Kyoji Horiguchi at UFC Fight Night: Bautista vs. Oliveira held in the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, losing via unanimous decision across three rounds.

DATE	OPPONENT	RESULT	METHOD	EVENT
18 July 2020	Malcolm Gordon	Win	Submission (triangle choke), R1	UFC Fight Night: Figueiredo vs. Benavidez 2
23 January 2021	Zhalgas Zhumagulov	Win	Unanimous decision	UFC 257
20 August 2022	Francisco Figueiredo	Win	Submission (rear-naked choke), R1	UFC 278
17 December 2022	Alessandro Costa	Win	KO, R3	UFC Fight Night 216
3 June 2023	Kai Kara-France	Win	Split decision	UFC on ESPN 46
2 November 2024	Brandon Moreno	Loss	Unanimous decision	UFC Fight Night: Moreno vs. Albazi
7 February 2026	Kyoji Horiguchi	Loss	Unanimous decision	UFC Fight Night: Bautista vs. Oliveira

The Kai Kara-France Decision: Why It Still Gets Discussed

Rarely in his career is anything invoked more than the split decision victory he secured against Kai Kara-France back in June of 2023. It was a five-round affair that resulted in the judges favouring the ‘Prince’, however, the media sentiment and prevailing thought were strongly against him, with 19 of 21 media organisations scoring the fight as Kara-France’s. That difference in the verdict and wider reception of the bout is quite stark when compared with a high-profile main event at flyweight and has since played a role in the discussion about how Albazi’s case for a title contention built, regardless of his record.

What happened vs. Moreno and Horiguchi: Setbacks, again.

The losses he sustained versus Brandon Moreno and the recently vanquished Kyoji Horiguchi have been the most challenging in the 30-year-old’s time at the UFC thus far. Vs. Moreno the two-time former champion in what was his most definitive shot at title relevance to this point was a massive setback given the circumstance surrounding an anterior neck injury forced the postponement of their first planned meeting at flyweight.
Loss at the hands of the former Shooto, DEEP, and RIZIN champion at flyweight was a clear and decisive loss via unanimous decision. To see him lose in this manner twice back-to-back, once to an accomplished former two-time champion and another against an extremely dangerous striker, places Albazi outside of immediate title contender discussions and into a category where he must once again, rebuild his case in a hyper-competitive weight class.

The Prince’s Cause: To be the first ever Arab UFC Champion.

In a Dec 2022 BBC interview, Albazi announced his cause beyond his pursuit of a title – “My biggest goal is to be the first Arab champion in UFC history,” Albazi revealed, in December of 2022. The title of the first ever Arab UFC champion is significant on its own but carries an even greater meaning, considering the sparse representation the region currently enjoys in the higher echelons of combat sports’ biggest organisation. It’s an audacious goal but adds another layer of intrigue and deeper purpose to his career beyond win and loss column. Albazi has also expressed his long-term desire to return to Iraq and contribute to developing the country’s burgeoning mixed martial arts scene.

Even with the setbacks on the field of battle, he’s given his career a purpose far exceeding any list or record. As a refugee, to contender, to the first Arab UFC champion in the company’s history is a story in its own right that many are still invested in, irrespective of his recent results.

Outside The Octagon: Trilingual, history-geek and pyramid-ologist

A natural born trilingualist, the ‘Prince’ speak Arabic, Swedish, and English fluently – a testament to the journey that brought him from Baghdad, Iraq to Syria before landing in Stockholm, Sweden to eventually bring his talents to Las Vegas. He calls himself a “history geek”, particularly intrigued by conspiracy theories, notably pyramidology (the belief that Egyptian pyramids hold a secret purpose or information). It’s a relatively niche passion to reveal for a professional fighter, setting Albazi apart from the cookie-cutter media personality some UFC athletes subscribe to.

Amir Albazi: Where His Career Stands in 2026

Currently ranked No 7 in the UFC Flyweight division, Albazi has accumulated a record of 17-3 as a professional and 5-2 inside the Octagon. He has no upcoming fights and following his losses to Brandon Moreno and Kyoji Horiguchi, will face a pivotal opportunity to rebuild his standing in the division in a famously deep and talented Flyweight landscape.

Potential future opponents for Albazi that have been mentioned include Tatsuro Taira, Alexandre Pantoja, Brandon Royval, Alex Perez and Tim Elliott all of whom would represent a strong measurement opportunity.

The Long Way From Bredäng

It had been 17 years since Amir Albazi escaped his home in Baghdad in the middle of the night at age seven, since then he’d choked out opponents inside the UFC Apex. The Prince has assembled a career record of 17-3 and has ascended into the seventh rank in what may be the sport’s most competitive weight class, openly aiming to be the first Arab UFC champion before eventually returning to his native country to foster the sport. He’s tasted defeat at the hands of both Brandon Moreno and Kyoji Horiguchi in what may have been steps along the way, but it will take far more than that to alter the trajectory of Albazi’s story, a story born out of an impulsive flight that began in the darkness.

Frequently Asked Questions: Amir Albazi

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