Nad Narimani (born 14 April 1987) is an English

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

. He was the former

Cage Warriors Fighting Championship Cage Warriors (CW) is an Irish-owned mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in London, England. The promotion was established in 2001 and staged its first MMA event in London in July, 2002. Many MMA stars have made their names under t ...

featherweight champion and he competed in the

Featherweight Featherweight is a weight class in the combat sports of boxing, kickboxing, mixed martial arts, and Greco-Roman wrestling. Boxing Professional boxing History A featherweight boxer weighs in at a limit of . In the early days of the division, ...

division of the

Ultimate Fighting Championship The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promoter (entertainment), promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority owned subsidiary of Endeavor ( ...

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

Narimani started his professional mma career in 2011 and he won the

featherweight championship against

Paddy Pimblett Patrick Mark Pimblett (born 3 January 1995) is an English professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Lightweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). A professional since 2012, Pimblett is a former Cage W ...

in April 2017 with a record of 10-2 period he signed with the UFC.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Narimani was scheduled to make his UFC debut on a short notice on 17 March 2018 at UFC Fight Night: Werdum vs. Volkov against

Nasrat Haqparast Mohammad Nasrat Haqparast (born August 22, 1995) is an Afghan mixed martial artist who currently competes in the Lightweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Background Haqparast was born in Germany to Afghan parents from ...

, replacing injured Alex Reyes. The bout was scrapped on the day of the event as Haqparast was deemed unfit to fight by the medical team due to an infectious eye condition. Narimani's UFC debut was rescheduled on 22 July 2018 against

Khalid Taha Khalid Taha (born February 15, 1992) is a German mixed martial artist currently competing in the bantamweight division. A professional since 2013, he has fought in the Ultimate Fighting Championship and Rizin Fighting Federation. Mixed martial a ...

at UFC Fight Night: Shogun vs. Smith. He won the fight via unanimous decision. Narimani was scheduled to face

Enrique Barzola Enrique Johnatan Barzola Acosta (born 28 April 1989) is a Peruvian mixed martial artist who competes in the Bantamweight and Featherweight divisions of Absolute Championship Akhmat (ACA). He was the lightweight winner on The Ultimate Fighter: ...

on 17 November 2018 at UFC Fight Night: Magny vs. Ponzinibbio. However, Barzola was pulled from the event and he was replaced by Anderson dos Santos. He won the fight via unanimous decision. Narimani next faced

Mike Grundy Michael Grundy (born 1 March 1987) is an English professional mixed martial artist and wrestler who competed in the Featherweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). He is now signed to Global Fight League (GFL) where he compe ...

on 16 March 2019 at UFC Fight Night: Till vs. Masvidal. Narimani lost the fight via TKO in the second round. Narimani was scheduled to face

Nik Lentz Nik Lentz (born August 13, 1984) is an American retired mixed martial artist. He most notably fought for the Ultimate Fighting Championship, fighting in the lightweight division. Background Lentz was born in El Paso, Texas but grew up in Twin ...

at UFC Fight Night: Blaydes vs. dos Santos on 25 January 2020. However, Narimani pulled out of the fight citing injury and was replaced by

Arnold Allen Arnold Billy Allen (born 22 January 1994) is an English professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Featherweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). As of 15 April 2025, he is #6 in the UFC featherweight ...

. Narimani faced

Grant Dawson Grant Michael Dawson (born February 20, 1994) is an American mixed martial artist currently competing in the Lightweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). As of July 1, 2025, he is #15 in the UFC lightweight rankings. Backgr ...

on 19 July 2020 at UFC Fight Night: Figueiredo vs. Benavidez 2. He lost the fight via unanimous decision. He was subsequently released by the UFC.

Personal life

Narimani is married with two children and is of Iranian heritage. He spent time helping in his father's Middle-Eastern restaurants in his spare time before turning to be a professional MMA fighter.

Championships and accomplishments

Mixed martial arts

* Cage Warriors Fighting Championship ** Cage Warriors Fighting Championship Featherweight Champion (One time)

Mixed martial arts record

, - , Loss , align=center, 12–4 ,

, Decision (unanimous) , UFC Fight Night: Figueiredo vs. Benavidez 2 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Abu Dhabi Abu Dhabi is the capital city of the United Arab Emirates. The city is the seat of the Abu Dhabi Central Capital District, the capital city of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, and the UAE's List of cities in the United Arab Emirates, second-most popu ...

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London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, England , , - , Win , align=center, 12–2 , Anderson dos Santos , Decision (unanimous) , UFC Fight Night: Magny vs. Ponzinibbio , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 , ,

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...

, Argentina , , - , Win , align=center, 11–2 ,

, Decision (unanimous) , UFC Fight Night: Shogun vs. Smith , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

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, Decision (unanimous) , Cage Warriors Fighting Championship 82 , , align=center, 5 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

, England , , - , Win , align=center, 9–2 , Daniel Requeijo , Submission (guillotine choke) , Cage Warriors Fighting Championship 76 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 1:21 ,

Newport Newport most commonly refers to: *Newport, Wales *Newport, Rhode Island, US Newport or New Port may also refer to: Places Asia *Newport City, Metro Manila, a Philippine district in Pasay * Newport (Vietnam), a United States Army and Army of t ...

, Wales , , - , Win , align=center, 8–2 , Jeremy Petley , TKO (punches) , BAMMA 23 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:26 ,

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...

, England , , - , Loss , align=center, 7–2 , Alex Enlund , Decision (unanimous) , Cage Warriors Fighting Championship 73 , , align=center, 5 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne, or simply Newcastle ( , Received Pronunciation, RP: ), is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is England's northernmost metropolitan borough, located o ...

, England , , - , Win , align=center, 7–1 , Benjamin Brander , Submission (rear-naked choke) , Cage Warriors Fighting Championship 64 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:53 ,

, England , , - , Win , align=center, 6–1 , Athinodoros Michailidis , Submission (rear-naked choke) , Cage Warriors Fighting Championship 60 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:42 ,

, England , , - , Loss , align=center, 5–1 , Graham Turner , Decision (split) , Cage Warriors Fighting Championship 56 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, England , , - , Win , align=center, 5–0 , Karsten Lenjoint , Decision (unanimous) , Fight UK 9 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Leicester Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area, and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest city in the East Midlands with a popula ...

, England , , - , Win , align=center, 4–0 , Marcin Wrzosek , Decision (split) , Fight UK 8 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, England , , - , Win , align=center, 3–0 , Maksym Matus , Submission (triangle choke) , Cage Conflict 14 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:53 ,

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

, England , , - , Win , align=center, 2–0 , Alex Brunnen , Submission (rear-naked choke) , Tear Up 7: Murch vs. Paul , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 4;28 ,

Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...

, England , , - , Win , align=center, 1–0 , Harvey Dines , TKO (corner stoppage) , KnuckleUp MMA: The New Breed 7 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 4:42 ,

Somerset Somerset ( , ), Archaism, archaically Somersetshire ( , , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel, Gloucestershire, and Bristol to the north, Wiltshire to the east ...

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References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Narimani, Nad 1987 births Living people English male mixed martial artists English people of Iranian descent Sportspeople of Iranian descent Iranian male mixed martial artists Martial artists from Bristol Mixed martial artists utilizing jujutsu Mixed martial artists utilizing Brazilian jiu-jitsu Featherweight mixed martial artists Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters English practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu Iranian practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu People awarded a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu 21st-century English sportsmen 21st-century Iranian sportsmen