Mohamed Zarey
The Kurdish Gorilla
UFC · MMA · Welterweight · Kurdistan · Norway
“A Nordic grappling champion who took the Kurdish name into one of the biggest promotions in the sport.”
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Mohamed Zarey is a Kurdish welterweight born in Sanandaj, in Eastern Kurdistan, and based in Norway, where he won both the Norwegian national and the Nordic grappling championships before turning to mixed martial arts. He fights as the Kurdish Gorilla and carries a professional record of 9-1 with one no contest, seven of his wins by stoppage and six of those by submission — a grappler's record built on the ground rather than in exchanges. In 2025 he entered the PFL MENA welterweight tournament, taking the Kurdish name into a promotion he describes as one of the biggest organisations in the world, and in April that year he submitted Veselin Dimitrov in the first round at Airtox Dominance FC 3.0.
A career in moments
- Before MMA
Norwegian and Nordic grappling champion
Wins the Norwegian national grappling championship and the Nordic championship after arriving in Norway, building the submission game that would account for six of his professional wins.
- 2025
A first-round submission in Denmark
Submits Bulgaria's Veselin Dimitrov inside the opening round at Airtox Dominance FC 3.0 in April — one of seven stoppages in ten professional bouts.
- 2025
Into the PFL
Enters the PFL MENA welterweight tournament, the first Kurdish fighter on this roster to compete inside a promotion ESPN's own MMA feed follows. “I fight in one of the biggest organizations in the world,” he says. “Right now, Kurdish athletes are taking over the sport.”
Upcoming
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Recent results
No results for Mohamed Zarey in the last 12 months.