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Kurdish fighter Herdem Alacabek holds a professional MMA record of five wins, zero losses. (Photo: Facebook/Herdem Alacabek)
ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – A professional Kurdish mixed martial arts fighter from Sweden will compete on Tuesday night for a contract in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC).
Kurdish fighter Herdem Alacabek (5-0-0) will fight William Knight (4-0-0) in a light heavyweight bout at 5 p.m. local time (Las Vegas) in Dana White’s Tuesday Night Contender Series for a chance to sign a professional UFC contract.
Alacabek is known for his wrestling and jiu-jitsu as well as his power, with all five of his wins coming via finishes. His impressive record is the reason he is listed as a favorite heading into the fight with Knight.
Herdem Alacabek (left) faces off against opponent William Knight. (Photo: Facebook/Herdem Alacabek)
Alacabek’s latest professional fight came in July 2018 when he beat opponent Dejon Daniels via rear naked choke in the first round on the main card of Legacy Fighting Alliance 36.
The Kurdish athlete is ranked number four on the Nordic Pro Men’s Light Heavyweight rankings.
The 28-year-old was born in Stockholm, Sweden. His family is from the Kurdistan of Turkey.
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Dana White, the President of the UFC – the world’s largest MMA organization – launched his Contender Series in May 2017 to scout athletes for the UFC.
Since the inaugural Contender Series, White has handed out dozens of contracts to MMA fighters from around the world.
“Nobody is going to stop me from getting this UFC contract,” Alacabek told ESPN in a recent interview.
A win on Tuesday night means Alacabek joins fellow Kurdish fighters Makwan Amirkhani and Rostem Akman in the UFC.