Mehdi Baghdad facts for kids

Mehdi Baghdad was born on April 13, 1985. He is a French mixed martial artist, which means he competes in a sport that combines different fighting styles. He trains and fights out of Los Angeles, California.

Mehdi used to fight for a big organization called the UFC. He also appeared on a TV show called The Ultimate Fighter 22: Team McGregor vs Team Faber.

Mehdi's Fighting Journey

Mehdi Baghdad started training in martial arts when he was 16 years old. He had his first professional fight at age 20. He became a world champion in Muay Thai, which is a type of boxing from Thailand. He also won a lightweight champion title in RFA MMA.

Mehdi gets his inspiration from his father, who passed away when Mehdi was young. He also looks up to a famous boxer named Prince Naseem Hamed. Mehdi's nickname is "Sultan," which means "High King" or "Emperor" in Arabic. His first loss in MMA was against another UFC fighter, Charles Oliveira.

On The Ultimate Fighter TV Show

Mehdi Baghdad joined The Ultimate Fighter 22: Team McGregor vs Team Faber. This TV show brings together fighters to compete for a chance to join the UFC.

In the show, Mehdi won his first fight against Artem Lobov. After this win, he joined the team led by famous fighter Conor McGregor. However, he later lost to Julian Erosa, which meant he was out of the tournament.

Fighting in the UFC

Even though Mehdi didn't win TUF 22, the UFC still signed him to fight for them. His first UFC match was on January 17, 2016, against Chris Wade. Mehdi lost this fight in the first round by "tapping out" to a move called a rear-naked choke. Tapping out means giving up because the opponent has you in a hold.

Mehdi was supposed to fight John Makdessi in June 2016, but the fight was moved to July 7, 2016. Mehdi lost this fight by a "split decision," which means some judges thought he won and others thought his opponent won, but the majority chose Makdessi.

Later, Mehdi was scheduled to fight Jon Tuck in October 2016. But Mehdi had to pull out of the fight because of an injury. After this, the UFC decided to release him from their promotion.

Another Chance on The Ultimate Fighter

In 2017, Mehdi got another chance to be on The Ultimate Fighter. This time it was the 25th season, called The Ultimate Fighter: Redemption. He was picked second overall for Team Garbrandt.

In the first round, he fought Jesse Taylor and lost by "unanimous decision." This means all the judges agreed that Jesse Taylor won the fight. This loss eliminated Mehdi from the tournament again.

After the UFC

After his time in the UFC, Mehdi Baghdad continued to fight. On July 2, 2021, he faced Thibault Gouti for a championship belt. Mehdi lost this fight in the first round by TKO (Technical Knockout), which means the referee stopped the fight because he couldn't safely continue.

Mehdi's Mixed Martial Arts Record Summary

Here is a summary of Mehdi Baghdad's professional mixed martial arts fights:

And here is a summary of his exhibition fights from The Ultimate Fighter shows:

See also

• List of current Brave CF fighters