"Chasing Her Dreams" - MMA Fighter From Kashmir Aims To Be The First Hijabi Fighter In The UFC

Fiza Nazir is a name most mainstream MMA fans are probably not aware of. She is an emerging mixed martial artist from India’s Jammu and Kashmir region. And probably the 1st Muslim Hijab wearing MMA fighter in the sub continent.

Hailing from the Fateh Kadal area of Srinagar, Fiza made history last year after winning the gold medal in the senior women’s 56.7 kg category at the Asian MMA Championship (IMMAF), which took place in Bahrain.

Now a featured athlete for Phuket Prospect, Fiza is setting up her next mission- the UFC, to earn a place in MMA’s top dog promotion and to become the first fighter in the UFC to wear a hijab.

Fiza wants to balance being a good Muslim and a good MMA fighter

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Fiza found her love for martial arts at a very young age, and for the first fifteen years, she trained in Thang-Ta, an indigenous martial art from the Indian state of Manipur. Although her family wanted her to pursue a career in football, aside from the lack of awareness regarding MMA or combat sports in her region, Fiza fostered into mixed martial arts.

After becoming 18 and already a champion in Thang-Ta, it was when Fiza decided to enrich her career and started her training in MMA. Currently undergoing her training in Phuket, Thailand, Fiza envisions making it to the UFC. However, aside from achieving success in MMA, Fiza wants to conform to her religion as well.

“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,” Fiza told The AllStar.

Fiza’s future ambition lies in becoming a UFC fighter, where there are strict rules and regulations on what a fighter can and cannot wear in the Octagon. Fiza further stated that while she had no problems with her hijab while competing in the IMMAF, she believes that her hijab will not cause any issues in the UFC as well.

“It’s not something which is going to hamper my opponent because this is my thing,” she went on, “unless and until I’m not pinning it up unless and until I’m not tying it up with anything so that my opponent has problems with her fingers or she gets hurt. If everything is clean, I think they will (allow it).”

“If you’re average people can give up on you, but if you’re at the top, for sure these things won’t even matter to you. Trust me, I don’t think somebody would stop you because you’re wearing a hijab,” added Fiza.