MMA · Lightweight
Makwan Amirkhani
Twenty wins, fourteen of them by submission, eight years on the UFC roster and a championship belt at home in Finland. Makwan Amirkhani carries the Kurdistan flag to the scales before he fights, every time.
The facts
| Record | MMA: 20-11 (1 KO, 14 submissions, 5 decisions) |
|---|---|
| Weight class | Lightweight and featherweight |
| Roots | Kirmasan (Kermanshah), Rojhilat |
| Based in | Turku, Finland |
| Born | 1988-11-08 |
| Height | 178 cm |
| Reach | 180 cm |
| Team | MA Training Center |
| Titles | Ice Cage lightweight champion (2025-08-06) |
Who he is
Makwan Amirkhani was born on 8 November 1988 in Kirmaşan, in Rojhilat, and moved to Finland with his family as a child. He is 178 centimetres tall, fights at lightweight and featherweight, and trains at MA Training Center. He is known for being proud of his Kurdish heritage and for posing with the Kurdistan flag at weigh ins (Wikipedia, 2026; Kurdistan24, 2026).
Before mixed martial arts he wrestled for the Finnish national team, and it shows in the way he fights.
What the record shows
Our own count on the official record: twenty wins and eleven losses, with fourteen of those wins by submission. That means seventy percent of everything he has won, he won by making an opponent give up. One knockout and five decisions make up the rest (Wikipedia, 2026).
He fought in the UFC from 2015 to 2023, then in Oktagon MMA, and since 2024 in Ice Cage Fighting. On 6 August 2025 he took the Ice Cage lightweight title, and on 6 September 2025 he defended his form with an anaconda choke over Theo Kolehmainen at forty seven seconds of the first round.
Why he matters
Amirkhani was the first Kurdish fighter many people ever saw inside the Octagon. Eight years on that roster is not a cameo, it is a career. And in Finland he is a household name, which is why the search interest for him there is larger than for any other Kurdish fighter in any single country.
Frequently asked questions
Is Makwan Amirkhani Kurdish?
Yes. He was born in Kirmaşan in Rojhilat into a Kurdish family and moved to Finland as a child (Wikipedia, 2026).
What is Makwan Amirkhani’s record?
Twenty wins and eleven losses, with fourteen submissions, one knockout and five decisions among the wins (Wikipedia, 2026).
Does he still fight in the UFC?
No. He fought in the UFC from 2015 to 2023, then in Oktagon MMA, and since 2024 in Ice Cage Fighting, where he is the lightweight champion.
What is his nickname?
Mr. Finland.
What was his last fight?
He beat Theo Kolehmainen by anaconda choke in the first round on 6 September 2025 at Ice Cage Fighting 5.
Sources
- Wikipedia, Makwan Amirkhani (2026)
- Kurdistan24, UFC victory for Kurdish MMA fighter Makwan Amirkhani (2026)