Mohammed Yahya ready for historic debut at UFC 294: My dream came into reality

Even back when he was barely a teenager, when he first fell in love with mixed martial arts on TV, when he would have “pretend UFC fights” with his brother, and when his older sibling and cousins would tease him for not exactly having the physique for the world’s leading MMA promotion, Mohammed Yahya knew he’d prove them wrong.

And 15 years or so later, he has.

“I always believed I would be in the UFC,” Yahya tells The National at TK MMA Fit gym in Media City, Dubai, days after signing a history-making first contract with the sport’s No 1 company. “Everyone’s like, ‘Why don’t you seem so happy?’ It’s not that. I knew this was coming; I knew the moment was going to come.

“I remember telling my cousins and my brother once when we were all sitting around and they were laughing at me, grabbing my stomach saying, ‘Oh yeah, you’ve got a long way to go’. Obviously now they’re my biggest supporters.”

They're not the only ones. Indeed, Yahya will surely have many more come October 21 at Etihad Arena, where he debuts on UFC 294, in front of his own people, in Abu Dhabi.

Not only is he making his UFC bow, but a huge slice of history, too. When he steps into the octagon against American Trevor Peek, Yahya will become the first Emirati to compete in the promotion.

“I'm very proud,” he says. “Obviously this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, everything I worked for since I was a little kid. The reason I started fighting in my career is watching the UFC on TV and wanting to train and become a UFC fighter. That was the main goal.

“And now my dream came into reality – and I'm ready.”

Ready, also, to act as an inspiration for the burgeoning MMA scene in the UAE and throughout the region.

“This is crazy for the Emiratis,” Yahya says.