MMA fighter Muhidin Abubakar is changing the narrative around Somalia

Muhidin Abubakar, a Somali-British professional fighter, values every second in the ring. Among the few faces representing Somalia in mixed martial arts, he is one of the rising stars.

Abubakar, 23, who was born and raised in London, recently made his debut in the Emirates at UAE Warriors. “It was a very big platform so it was good for me to feel such a stage early on in my career to prepare me for the future,” he tells The National.

The young star says his love for the sport was instant. “I got into MMA through a friend of mine. One day he invited me to come to his MMA gym and try it out. At this point, I had already trained a little bit in karate but when I went I was instantly hooked,” he said.

“The first fighter who I really started watching was Junior Dos Santos.”

Now, he's inspired by former MMA legend Khabib Nurmagomedov, a regular visitor to the UAE and who will soon open the doors to his new gym in Abu Dhabi.

“I think Khabib is the best person to look up to because of his etiquette and values,” said Abubakar.

Luthando Biko dominated all the action on the ground all 3 rounds securing the UD.Watch it live on @UFCFightPass @EtihadArena.ae#UAEWarriors #UAEW32 #UAEWarriorsAfrica——-@VisitAbuDhabi @AbuDhabiSC @ADSportstv @AbuDhabiEvents @PalmsSportsUAE pic.twitter.com/GzovhbzWHc

Despite losing a unanimous decision to South Africa's Luthando Biko at UAE Warriors 32: Africa 3, Abubakar is determined to push forward and learn from his mistakes.

“The motivation is always to get better every day so when you lose the things you need to work on become more evident. I need to get back to the gym and fix my mistakes and make sure I come back better and a more improved version of myself.”

It is undeniable that young Somalis are