Akira Corassani facts for kids

Hamid Khorassani (Persian: حمید خراسانی), born on August 27, 1982, is better known as Akira Corassani. He is a former professional mixed martial artist from Sweden. Akira competed in the Featherweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). He started his professional MMA career in 2007. Akira became well-known for fighting in Western Europe. He was also a contestant on the TV show The Ultimate Fighter: Team Bisping vs. Team Miller.

About Akira Corassani

Akira Corassani was born in Lund, a city in southern Sweden. His family moved to Sweden from Iran around 1976. Akira started learning martial arts when he was six years old. He first studied Shotokan Karate for a year. Then, he switched to Tae Kwon Do.

Early Training and Sports

While learning Tae Kwon Do, Akira also played football for his hometown team. He was very good at Tae Kwon Do and quickly earned his black belt at age 14. After getting his black belt, he stopped Tae Kwon Do to focus on football. He played in the top youth football league in Sweden.

Return to Martial Arts

When Akira was 22, he returned to martial arts. He began training in MMA. Akira comes from a family of doctors; all four of his siblings are doctors. Akira is also a vegan. He can speak seven different languages: Swedish, English, Spanish, Portuguese, Persian, Azeri, and Turkish.

Akira's Fighting Journey

Starting His MMA Career

In 2005, Akira Corassani began training at an MMA gym in Gothenburg, Sweden. He decided to dedicate his life to martial arts. Just four months later, he competed in his first grappling tournament and won a silver medal. Before becoming a professional fighter, Akira had 30 grappling matches and 12 boxing fights.

First Professional Fight

Akira started fighting professionally in 2007. He traveled across Europe to compete. His first professional fight was against Dion Staring, a much heavier fighter from the Netherlands. Akira weighed 76 kg, while Staring weighed 102 kg. Akira stepped in for a friend's opponent who pulled out. This fight was called an "open weight" fight. Before joining the UFC, Akira had a record of 9 wins, 3 losses, and 1 no-contest.

Moving to New York

In 2011, Akira moved to New York. He joined Team Renzo Gracie, a famous MMA team. He trained with well-known fighters like Frankie Edgar and Edson Barboza.

Fighting on The Ultimate Fighter

In 2011, Akira signed with the UFC to be on the TV show The Ultimate Fighter: Team Bisping vs. Team Miller.

Getting into the House

In the first episode, Akira fought Brian Pearman to earn a spot in the Ultimate Fighter house. Akira won by knockout in the first round. He was chosen to be part of Team Bisping. He was the second featherweight fighter picked for the team.

Challenges and Wins

During the show, Akira had some disagreements with Dustin Neace from Team Mayhem. They later fought each other. In their fight, Neace tried a submission move called a heel hook. It looked like Akira tapped out, but the referee did not stop the fight. Akira got out of the hold and went on to win the fight by a majority decision after two rounds. This win moved him to the semi-finals.

Semi-Finals Fight

Akira then fought Dennis Bermudez in the semi-finals. This fight would decide who would go to the featherweight tournament final. Akira landed many good strikes and knocked Bermudez down several times. However, Akira lost the fight by submission (guillotine choke) in the first round. When the referee stopped the fight, Akira had lost consciousness. He had to be told that he had lost.

Akira's UFC Career

Even though Akira lost in the semi-finals of The Ultimate Fighter, he signed a special deal with the UFC.

First UFC Fights

Akira was supposed to make his UFC debut on December 3, 2011, but he got injured and had to pull out. He was then scheduled to fight in his home country of Sweden on April 14, 2012, but another injury forced him out again.

Akira finally made his UFC debut on September 29, 2012. He won his fight against Andy Ogle by a split decision. This was his first fight in the featherweight division.

More UFC Matches

On April 6, 2013, Akira fought Robbie Peralta and won by unanimous decision. He was scheduled to fight Mike Brown on August 17, 2013, but an injury made him withdraw.

Akira faced Maximo Blanco on November 30, 2013. Early in the fight, Blanco hit Akira with an illegal knee while Akira had a knee and hand on the ground. Akira could not continue the fight, so he won by disqualification. It was later found that the illegal knee broke his nose in five places.

Final Fights and Retirement

Akira fought Dustin Poirier on April 16, 2014. He lost this exciting fight by TKO in the second round. However, he received his first Fight of the Night bonus for his great effort.

On October 4, 2014, Akira fought Max Holloway. He lost the fight by knockout in the first round.

His last fight was on January 24, 2015, against Sam Sicilia. Akira lost this fight by KO in the first round.

Two days later, on January 26, 2015, Akira Corassani announced that he was retiring from MMA. He finished his UFC career with a record of 3 wins and 3 losses.

Awards and Achievements

• Ultimate Fighting Championship
  • Fight of the Night (One time) for his fight against Dustin Poirier
• MMAJunkie.com
  • 2014 April Fight of the Month for his fight against Dustin Poirier