The Times Kuwait Report
Mohammad Al Aqraa, a young Kuwaiti, is treading a path where no other Kuwaiti has been before, a professional fighter in the Mixed Martial Arts (MMA), Mohammed is the only Kuwaiti of standing in the Professional Fighter League (PFL) and is striving to be the first Kuwaiti world champion in his division.
Mohammed, a Judo Black Belt, has made a mark in MMA through his relentless pursuit of the sport, sheer passion, hard work and brilliance in execution.The California-based Kuwaiti, undefeated in five professional fights, is now aiming to create history with another victory under his belt, when he takes on Amir Fazli of Iran in his upcoming fight on 20 September in Riyadh.
The upcoming Professional Fighters League, Middle East and North Africa (PFL-MENA) contest will be an interesting one, as Fazli, one of the most decorated strikers on the PFL MENA roster, has won 5 of his 6 fights by first-round knockout. He is the current UAE Warriors International Middleweight Champion and a two-time Wushu Sanda World Champion.
MMA is a combat sport with no restrictions on the types of techniques used in competition. These techniques can be striking and grappling and can happen both standing and on the ground. This is the nature of modern MMA, which incorporates techniques from traditional martial arts like boxing, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Muay Thai, and wrestling, and this is what makes the sport one of the most challenging in the world.
According to the International Mixed Martial Arts Federation (IMMAF) MMA is one of the fastest-growing sports in the world, with a fan base of 500 million globally having an average age of 35. Last year, Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund-owned Surge Sports Investment (SRJ) invested more than $100 million for a minority stake in PFL to advance the company’s global expansion and help develop its Middle East League.
Speaking to The Times Kuwait in an exclusive interview ahead of his fight in Riyadh, Al Aqraa expressed his great pride and honor to represent Kuwait, and said that he feels extremely happy in setting an example to the many fighters from Kuwait especially for the upcoming generation.
Indicating his relentless pursuit of the sport, Al Aqraa said his dream to be the world champion and the best in the world meant he has had to make many sacrifices, including staying for an extended period in the Russian region of Dagestan to train under his celebrated coach Javier Mendez.
“I am always aiming to improve myself and I never stop training. I believe that a fighter should not stop training just because there is no fight ahead. For me, everyday is like a day I have a fight and so the training is continuous.” He believes PFL-MENA offers him a chance to prove that he is the best mixed martial artist in the Middle East.
In answer to what sparked his interest in MMA fighting, Al-Aqraa said, “Since I was young, I was in love with this kind of fighting sport. When I was in high school or middle school I used to grapple with my classmates. Between classes we’d be like, let’s grapple with each other.”
“I had this crazy energy for fighting but my parents were not in favor of me becoming a professional fighter. For instance, whenever I wanted to go out and train, my father would insist I finish my homework first.” His love and passion for the sport were so strong that he would study hard, just so he could free himself early and go for training.
Mohammed soon realized that if he had to get to the top he would have to leave Kuwait and go train in the United States, and so he made the decision to join Fox Academy in California while pursuing his higher studies there. Having started his combat sports journey in judo and kickboxing in Kuwait, Al Aqraa moved full time to MMA after joining American Kick-Boxing Academy (AKA) in 2017 at the age of 17.
Last year, he graduated in industrial system engineering from San Jose State University, and then began pursuing his MMA career full time. He made his MMA amateur debut in the West Coast Elite 3 and Dragon House 32, winning both his fights in California.
In his first professional appearance in the Ultimate Warrior Challenge in February 2021, Al Aqraa made a winning start by defeating Mexican Rodrigo Reyes. He then stretched his winning streak to five, after his four fights at the UAE Warriors in Abu Dhabi from February 2022 to July 2023.
He adds that training with renowned Russian fighters such as Nurmagomedov and Makhachev has instilled in him an unshakable discipline and given him an insight on what it takes to be the best. His advice to the younger generation is to dream big, and to remember that nothing is going to come easy. “The bigger the dream, the more the hard work.”
Al Aqraa concludes by stressing that although his aim of taking the Kuwait Flag to the top will not be easy, he is confident that with a lot of hard work, consistent training, sacrifices and dedication his aim will one day prevail.
