Fiza Nazir: Kashmir’s MMA Athlete With UFC Ambitions

She is an athlete who has won 42 medals including 12 gold and is among the rising stars of Kashmir. The winner of Champion of Champions 2020 and 2021, Fiza Nazir, has also claimed the Best World Woman Fighter award.

Prominent name in martial arts has not only won many fights but also trains young girls in the sport. Fiza Nazir hails from Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir.

Fiza Nazir’s MMA Journey

At a very young age, love for martial arts burgeoned in Nazir. She started learning martial arts at the age of 7 and for fifteen years, the girl trained herself in the indigenous martial art, Thang-Ta from India’s Manipur. Although Kashmir isn’t much exposed to sports like martial arts, Fiza Nazir promoted herself to mixed martial arts.

The Thang-Ta champion at the age of 18, embarked on a path of training in MMA. She started competing in martial arts at school and gradually presented herself in district and state level competitions.

In addition to her numerous medals, she also won the Best World Woman Fighter award in 2018. She has participated in 11 nationals and 5 federation competitions. The Srinagar athlete competed in her first international match in 2016. She has participated in five international matches and won five gold medals.

Fiza Nazir has represented India in several competitions like Arnis International Championship,  4th Thang-Ta International Championship, World Martial Arts Union. She has competed as well as won against fighters from countries like China, Bhutan, Philippines etc.

“Winning or losing is the part of the sports, but giving moral support to a player pushes him/her for success,” says Fiza to a news channel.

She has overcome many obstacles like sleeping on the railway station, lack of infrastructure in Kashmir for indoor games or the conservative society.

Recently, Fiza Nazir claimed a remarkable feat. In 2023, Nazir won the gold medal at Asian MMA Championship 2023 (IMMMAF) held in Bahrain. She clinched the gold in senior women’s -56.7 kg weight category. At IMMMAF, Asian competition, Asian countries like Afghanistan, Bahrain, China, Hong Kong, India, Kyrgyzstan, Lebanon, Malaysia, Mongolia, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Sri Lanka, etc take part in the competition.

This win marks a pivotal moment in Fiza Nazir’s career. After winning a competition at Asian level, Fiza began harboring a dream of competing at Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC)

Apart from proving her caliber in the sport, the fighter also wants to conform to her religion. During the fights as well as the training session, Fiza Nazir is always seen wearing hijab (headscarf specifically worn by Muslim women). Speaking to The AllStar, she said,

“If I have to be good I need to be good in every aspect of my life, I can’t be a good athlete and not a good Muslim. I can’t be a good human and a good fighter. I need to be a good Muslim, I need to be a good fighter, so I need to balance everything,” 

The martial art champion gives credit to most of her achievements to her coach, Aijaz Ahmed Bhat.

Fiza Nazir is currently training at Phuket Fight Club, Thailand. She aims to make it to the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Although there are strict rules on what to wear or not to wear in the UFC, she is sure her hijab in no way will be a hindrance.

Fiza Nazir is among the most inspirational sportspersons from Kashmir. Back in 2019, she opened an academy, “Knock it out girls” in Rajbagh area of Srinagar.

She motivates and trains the young girls in the martial arts. For the female athletes of Kashmir, her journey serves as a testament to the idea that with resilience, determination and genuine hard work, one can achieve their dreams.

READ MORE : Insha Bashir – First J&K National Women’s Wheelchair Basketball Player

Tabinda Mir

Tabinda Mir is a writer from Kashmir. She is an English Honours graduate and her interests primarily dwell in poetry and sports writing. She likes to cover Cricket as an avid fan. Apart from sports, her other publications include articles, poems and a letter to summer in the book titled, “Under The Summer Skies”.

Also, her leisure time activities include reading novels, poetry, non literary works, philosophies and writing poetry, short stories, articles on diverse themes.

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