Pakistani Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) icon Ahmed Mujtaba is set to make his highly anticipated return to the ONE Championship circle when he faces Brazilian fighter Abraao Amorim this Saturday at the event ONE 163 in the Singapore Indoor Stadium.
Mujtaba, who participated in a four-month-long training at the American Kickboxing Academy and is currently training at the Pak Fight Club ahead of his next fight, promises an improved version of himself after having his last fight at ONE Championship in February 2021.
“People will see the new Wolverine, with different skills, a different mindset and with different power,” Mujtaba said.
In the last six years, Mujtaba had five fights at ONE, winning three, the last of which he knocked out India’s Rahul Raju in only 56 seconds.
Eager for a winning comeback, Mujtaba has rewatched some of Amorim’s previous fights, including his winning debut against Dae Sung Park on 22 April, taking notes about his competitor’s fighting style.
“Abraao is a good fighter overall. I just checked a few fights, you know. He just tries to swing a lot of punches. In his last fight, the first round didn’t really go really well, according to his plan. But in the second round, he got the opportunity, and he won the fight,” Mujtaba said.
Mujtaba, 29, has learned multiple martial arts disciplines in his career, and therefore, has a big fighting arsenal to choose from against Amorim.
“I don’t care if he wants to wrestle, I’ll wrestle him. If he wants to do striking, I will strike with him, if he wants to do BJJ, I’ll do BJJ. I’m ready in every aspect of this art, you know, because I’ve been training for a very long time, and I feel that energy inside me and I just can’t wait for the date of the fight,” Mujtaba said.
Growing up in Quetta, Mujtaba excelled at the martial arts early on in his life and started officially training at 18. He made a winning MMA debut at Pak Fight Club, defeating Nadeem Sharif in 2013 before beating Ahmed Abbas.
He also went on to win four medals (gold, silver, and two bronze) in the Pakistan Grappling Championship before capturing the UGB MMA featherweight title. In 2016, he signed for ONE Championship, defeating Singaporean Benedict Ang via unanimous decision on his debut.
Six years after making his debut at the combat sports company, Mujtaba returns to face 36-year-old Amorim at ONE 163. He has a clear message to his global fanbase, including his compatriots in Pakistan and MMA fans in Singapore: “Just be ready and mark your calendars.”
“I am super excited, you know. It’s been a long time. Just can’t wait to step back into the cage,” Mujtaba said.
