Makwan Amirkhani

Amirkhani was expected to face Mike Grundy at UFC Fight Night 171 on March 21, 2020. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the event was eventually postponed .

Amirkhani faced Chris Fishgold at UFC Fight Night: Gustafsson vs. Smith on 1 June 2019. He won the fight via an anaconda choke submission in the second round. The win also earned Amirkhani his second Performance of the Night bonus award.

Amirkhani faced Shane Burgos on 2 November 2019 at UFC 244. He lost the fight via TKO in the third round.

Amirkhani faced Jason Knight on 27 May 2018 at UFC Fight Night 130 Amirkhani won the back-and-forth fight via split decision, after being knocked down twice with uppercuts.

Makwan Amirkhani has fought five times in amateur boxing. He would have had his fifth fight in December 2018 in Somero instead of January 2019, if he would not have refused to a new replacement opponent who was an experienced and heavier boxer.

Amirkhani faced Arnold Allen on 18 March 2017 at UFC Fight Night 107. He lost the fight by split decision.

Amirkhani faced Mike Wilkinson on February 27, 2016 at UFC Fight Night 84. He won the fight by unanimous decision.

Despite growing up in Finland, Amirkhani remains proud of his Kurdish heritage. At a June 2015 weigh-in to his fight, he held a Kurdistan flag aloft as he stood on the scales. He also frequently posts in support for the Peshmerga on his social media accounts. He also holds the Kurdish flag during weigh ins in the UFC. Makwan is proud of where he is from and large part of his fan base are Kurds.

Amirkhani made his promotional debut against Andy Ogle on January 24, 2015 at UFC on Fox 14. He won the fight via TKO only 8 seconds into the first round. He also earned a Performance of the Night bonus.

Amirkhani was briefly linked to a bout with Diego Rivas on June 20, 2015 at UFC Fight Night 69. However, shortly after the bout was announced, Rivas was pulled from the fight due to undisclosed reasons and replaced by Masio Fullen. Amirkhani won the fight by submission due to a rear naked choke in the first round.

Amirkhani was born in the Kurdish city of Kermanshah and is of Goran and Yarsanism origin. Treated as infidels, the family fled the muslim country to Iraq and settled in UNHCR's Al-Tash refugee camp. In the aftermath of the Iran–Iraq War, the family were resettled to Vaasa, Finland, around 1993. Growing up as a small-sized immigrant in Vaasa, Amirkhani was subjected to serious physical and mental bullying from daycare up until the upper comprehensive school.

Makwan has worked as a model and was the 1st runner-up in 2012 Mr. Finland pageant, which his nickname refers to. After finding success in MMA career, he has also been seen in several reality TV shows in his native Finland and has released an autobiography in 2017.

Amirkhani began training in mixed martial arts at the age of 16 and had his first professional fight in 2010. Competing on the regional circuit solely in Finland, he compiled a record of 10–2, with eight finishes, all by submission and all in the first round, before signing with the UFC in December 2014.

Makwan Amirkhani (born November 8, 1988) is a Finnish mixed martial artist competing in the Featherweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Amirkhani is perhaps best known for his first-round eight-second knockout of Andy Ogle, which is one of the fastest knockouts in UFC history.