Abdul Azim Badakhshi (born 20 August 1995) is an Afghan-Indian former Professional Kickboxer and professional

mixed martial arts Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact fighting combat sport, sport based on strike (attack), striking and grappling; incorporating techniques from various combat sports from around the world. In the early 20th century, various inter-s ...

(MMA) athlete.

Early life and background

Abdul Azim Badakhshi was born on August 20, 1995 in the village of

Mashhad Mashhad ( ; ), historically also known as Mashad, Meshhed, or Meshed in English, is the List of Iranian cities by population, second-most-populous city in Iran, located in the relatively remote north-east of the country about from Tehran. ...

in the

Kishim District Kishim District is one of the 29 districts of Badakhshan province in eastern Afghanistan.The district capital is Mashhad. The district is located in the Keshem Valley, a primarily rural area on the western edge of the province, and is home to appr ...

of the

Badakhshan province Badakhshan Province (Dari: بدخشان) is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan, located in the northeastern part of the country. It is bordered by Tajikistan's Gorno-Badakhshan in the north and the Pakistani regions of Lower and Upper C ...

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...

into an ethnic Tajik family. He has a brother, Abdul Karim Badakhshi who is also an MMA fighter. From a young age, Badakhshi participated in sports, starting with kickboxing. Over the years, through consistent performance, he became recognized as one of Afghanistan's top athletes.

Career

Badakhshi initially started with

boxing Boxing is a combat sport and martial art. Taking place in a boxing ring, it involves two people – usually wearing protective equipment, such as boxing glove, protective gloves, hand wraps, and mouthguards – throwing Punch (combat), punch ...

and soon transitioned to

Wushu Wushu may refer to: Martial arts * Chinese martial arts, the various martial arts of China * Wushu (sport) Wushu () (), or kung fu, is a competitive Chinese martial art. It integrates concepts and forms from various traditional and modern ...

, where he began participating in professional competitions. His performance in Wushu competitions led to his inclusion in the Afghanistan national team. As a national team member, he represented Afghanistan in several international competitions. In 2013, after numerous professional boxing and wushu matches, Badakhshi transitioned to

(MMA). Competing in the 76 kg weight class and standing at 180 cm tall, he achieved significant success in various competitions. With a professional record of 14 wins and 4 losses, he has competed in various global organizations, including

Super Fight League Super Fight League was a mixed martial arts promotion based in India. The organisation was formed in 2012 by actor Sanjay Dutt and British-Indian businessman Raj Kundra, and co-owned by British-Indian businessman Bill Dosanjh and British boxin ...

(SFL), AFC - Afghanistan Fighting Championship 3, SFL 2017: Semifinals - Ultimate Showdown: Delhi Heroes vs. Goa Pirates, and ACB 86 in Moscow. Through these platforms, he has continually proven his prowess in MMA.

Controversy

In 2023, Badakhshi was set to compete on May 27 at Road to UFC in at the UFC Performance Institute in

Shanghai Shanghai, Shanghainese: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: is a direct-administered municipality and the most populous urban area in China. The city is located on the Chinese shoreline on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the ...

. He was unable to attend because he was incarcerated after fracturing his jaw fellow fighter Srikant Sekhar after in a brawl inside the cage at Matrix Fight Night 9 in

New Delhi New Delhi (; ) is the Capital city, capital of India and a part of the Delhi, National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the Government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Parliament ...

. Badakshi was accused by Sekhar of sucker punching him and fracturing his jaw. Badakhshi was imprisoned for one year in Indian

Tihar jail Tihar Prisons, popularly known as Tihar Jail, are a prison complex in India and are one of the largest complexes of prisons in India. There are 9 functional prisons spread over more than 400 acres. Run by Department of Delhi Prisons, the prison ...

. He claims the Indian was insulting the Afghan fans. In response to the incident, MFN issued a statement banning all Afghan fighters from competing in the promotion.

Personal life

Badakhshi is a devout Muslim. In a 2023 television interview, Abdul Azim Badakhshi confirmed that he is engaged to Krishna Shroff, the daughter of

Jackie Shroff Jaikishan Kakubhai Shroff (born 1 February 1957), known by his screen name Jackie Shroff, is an Indian actor and former model from Mumbai, Maharashtra, who primarily works in the Hindi film industry. In a career spanning over four decades, he ...

and sister of

Tiger Shroff Jai Hemant Shroff (born 2 March 1990), known professionally as Tiger Shroff, is an Indian actor who works in Hindi films. Born to actors Jackie Shroff and Ayesha Dutt, he made his acting debut with the action romance '' Heropanti'' (2014), for ...

, one of the most famous actors in

Indian cinema The cinema of India, consisting of motion pictures made by the Indian film industry, has had a large effect on world cinema since the second half of the 20th century. Indian cinema is made up of various film industries, each focused on p ...

. He is also involved in human rights activities.

Mixed martial arts record

, - , Loss , align=center, 14–4 , Sanjeet Budhwar , KO (punch) , Matrix Fight Night 14 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 3:18 ,

Noida Noida (), short for New Okhla Industrial Development Authority (ISO: ), is a city located in Gautam Buddha Nagar district of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. As per provisional reports of Census of India, the population of Noida in 2011 was ...

, India , , - , Win , align=center, 14–3 , Park Hae-jin , KO (elbow) , Matrix Fight Night 13 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:18 ,

, India , , - , Win , align=center, 13–3 , Fabricio Oliveira , Decision (unanimous) , Matrix Fight Night 8 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, India , , - , Win , align=center, 12–3 , Marcelo Guarilha , KO (slam and punches) , Matrix Fight Night 7 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 3:25 ,

Hyderabad Hyderabad is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River (India), Musi River, in the northern part of Southern India. With an average altitude of , much ...

, India , , - , Win , align=center, 11–3 , Agshin Babaev , TKO (punches) , Brave CF 47 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:23 , Arad, Bahrain , , - , Loss , align=center, 10–3 , Akhmed Magomedov , Decision (unanimous) , Brave CF 45 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Riffa Riffa () is the second-largest city in the Kingdom of Bahrain in terms of area. The city is divided into three parts: , and . All three parts are located in the Southern Governorate. The city is growing fast: during the 2001 census, the p ...

, Bahrain , , - , Win , align=center, 10–2 , Bakhtiyar Arzimanov , TKO (punches) , Snow Leopard FC: Fight Night Afghanistan 9 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 0:50 ,

Kabul Kabul is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. Located in the eastern half of the country, it is also a municipality, forming part of the Kabul Province. The city is divided for administration into #Districts, 22 municipal districts. A ...

, Afghanistan , , - , Win , align=center, 9–2 , Mukhammad Sangov , TKO (punches) , Truly Grand FC 3 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:56 ,

, Afghanistan , , - , Loss , align=center, 8–2 , Denis Kanakov , KO (punches) , ACB 86 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:04 ,

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

, Russia , , - , Win , align=center, 8–1 , Sascha Sharma , KO (knee) , Super Fight League 2018 Semi-Finals: Bengaluru Tigers vs. Delhi Heroes , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 0:07 ,

Mumbai Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial capital and the most populous city proper of India with an estimated population of 12 ...

, India , , - , Win , align=center, 7–1 , Manas Daimary , KO (punches) , Super Fight League 2018: Gujarat Warriors vs. Delhi Heroes , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:25 ,

, India , , - , Win , align=center, 6–1 , Ognjen Salatic , TKO (knee to the body and punches) , Super Fight League 2018: Delhi Heroes vs. Tamil Veerans , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:57 ,

, India , , - , Win , align=center, 5–1 , David Moon , TKO (punches) , Super Fight League 2018: Delhi Heroes vs. U.P. Nawabs , , align=center, 1 , align=center, N/A ,

, India , , - , Win , align=center, 4–1 , Mukesh Gora , TKO (punches) , Super Fight League 2017 Semi-Finals: Delhi Heroes vs. Goa Pirates , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:56 ,

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, but spread chiefly to the west, or beyond its Bank (geography ...

, India , , - , Win , align=center, 3–1 , Sajjad Mohammadi , TKO (punches) , Afghanistan FC 6 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 2:20 ,

, Afghanistan , , - , Win , align=center, 2–1 , Mohammad Fazil Dler , Submission (rear-naked choke) , Afghanistan FC 5 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:32 ,

, Afghanistan , , - , Win , align=center, 1–1 , Ismail Haidari , Submission (rear-naked choke) , Afghanistan FC 3 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:07 ,

, Afghanistan , , - , Loss , align=center, 0–1 , Narender Grewal , Decision (unanimous) , Super Fight League 19 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, India , , -

External links

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Badakhshi, Abdul Azim 1995 births Living people Indian people of Afghan descent Afghan male mixed martial artists Bantamweight mixed martial artists People from Badakhshan Province