Ilir Latifi (born July 28, 1983) is a Swedish mixed martial artist who fights in the Heavyweight division, most recently in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. A two-time national wrestling champion and a professional MMA competitor since 2008, Latifi has also competed in Shark Fights, Rumble of The Kings, and GLORY.
Contents
Mixed martial arts career
Background
With a considerable number of wrestlers in his family, Latifi began wrestling at a young age. Latifi continued to wrestle in order to pursue his dream of one day being world champion. In 2005, he began to follow in his older brother's footsteps by training MMA as a result of his dissatisfaction with the constant rule changes in wrestling. Latifi competed at the 2005 ADCC European trials, where his division was won by Alistair Overeem, but he did not earn a spot at the 2005 ADCC championships. Although Latifi did not compete at the 2009 ADCC European Trials, he was invited to the 2009 ADCC Championships, where he lost in the first round to Alexandre Ribeiro via points (2–0).
Early career
Latifi started his career as a heavyweight. His first professional MMA fight was on May 17, 2008, with the Real Pain Challenge promotion against future Bellator fighter and WSOF Heavyweight champion Blagoi Ivanov. However, the fight was ruled a no contest 55 seconds into the first round, as Latifi drove Ivanov into one of the posts on the ring and destroyed it.
Next he fought future UFC heavyweight Christian Colombo on September 6, 2008. The bout was first booked as a professional contest, but would later be changed to an amateur or semi-pro bout which is not listed on the fighters professional records. Latifi won the fight by submission due to a north–south choke in the first round. Back in professional competition Latifi had his last fight as a heavyweight, before dropping down to light heavyweight, on October 25, 2008, at Superior Challenge 2, where he defeated Roman Mihocka by knockout in the second round.
He holds a notable win over MMA- and kickboxing veteran Tony Lopez. Lopez came in to the fight on a 7-fight winning streak. Latifi used his superior wrestling and also his improved striking to shut Lopez down to win a unanimous decision. He has also fought against former Bellator Light Heavyweight champion and former MFC Light Heavyweight Champion Emanuel Newton and Tatsuya Mizuno. His early career success has led to Latifi being ranked as one of the top Light Heavyweights in Europe.
He became the first Superior Challenge Light Heavyweight Champion after defeating Jorge Oliveira for the vacant belt on October 6, 2012, at Superior Challenge 8.
Ultimate Fighting Championship
Latifi made his UFC debut against at the time #10 ranked, former Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Champion Gegard Mousasi on April 6, 2013, at UFC on Fuel TV 9, on four days notice, reportedly cutting weight from 105 kg (231 lbs) to 93.4 kg (206 lbs), replacing his injured training partner Alexander Gustafsson. Latifi lost the fight via unanimous decision. After the fight UFC President Dana White praised Latifi for taking a fight against a top 10 fighter like Mousasi on such short notice and promised that Latifi would get another fight in the promotion.
In his second fight for the promotion, Latifi fought MMA- and kickboxing veteran Cyrille Diabaté on March 8, 2014, at UFC Fight Night 37. Latifi won the fight via submission in the first round. His opponent, Diabaté retired from MMA and the UFC following his loss to Latifi.
Latifi was later expected to face Tom Lawlor on July 19, 2014, at UFC Fight Night 46. However, Lawlor later had to withdraw from the bout citing an injury, and was replaced by promotional newcomer Chris Dempsey. Latifi effectively used leg kicks to disable his opponent, before finishing him with punches, ending the fight via first-round knockout.
Latifi faced promotional newcomer Jan Błachowicz on October 4, 2014, at UFC Fight Night 53. He lost the fight via TKO in the first round.
Latifi next faced Hans Stringer on July 18, 2015, at UFC Fight Night 72. He won the fight by knockout after dropping Stringer with an overhand right and following up with punches on the ground, stopping the fight 56 seconds into the first round.
Latifi faced Sean O'Connell on January 17, 2016, at UFC Fight Night 81. He won the fight by knockout, having landed a vicious overhand right that wobbled O'Connell, followed by a right hook that dropped him to the canvas, 28 seconds into the first round. Following the fight, Latifi expressed his desire to fight in a main event in his hometown Malmö.
Latifi faced Gian Villante on March 5, 2016, at UFC 196. He won the fight via unanimous decision.
Personal life
Of Albanian origin, Latifi's parents emigrated from Kosovo in the 1960s. Latifi was raised in Rosengård, where he befriended football player Zlatan Ibrahimović. His brother Arben, who Ilir has described as his greatest influence in life, is a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu and was one of the pioneers of Swedish MMA in the early days, winning both the championship in European Open BJJ and the Panamerican Championship during his active career.
In 2016, Latifi was awarded role model of the year and received the most votes for the people's choice award in the annual Swedish martial arts awards ceremony Kampsportsgalan.
Championships and accomplishments
Mixed martial arts
Ultimate Fighting Championship
Performance of the Night (One time) vs. Ovince Saint Preux
Tied (Anthony Johnson & Volkan Oezdemir) for most Light Heavyweight stoppage victories in less than one minute in UFC history (2)
UFC.com Awards
2018: Ranked #7 Submission of the Year vs. Ovince Saint Preux
Superior Challenge
Superior Challenge Light Heavyweight Championship (One time; First)
Submission wrestling
Abu Dhabi Combat Club
2003 ADCC European Championships
2004 ADCC European Qualifiers Winner
Amateur wrestling
Nordic Wrestling Association
2001 Nordic Championship Junior -97 kg (213 lbs) Greco-Roman Championship
Swedish Wrestling Federation
2005 Swedish National Light Heavyweight Greco-Roman Championship
