Nad Narimani (born 14 April 1987) is an English mixed martial artist. He was the former Cage Warriors Fighting Championship featherweight champion and he competed in the Featherweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

Nad Narimani
Born (1987-04-14) 14 April 1987 (age 37)
Bristol, England
Other namesSmiler[1]
1SA (One Step Ahead)[2]
Height5 ft 8 in (173 cm)
Weight145 lb (66 kg; 10 st 5 lb)
DivisionFeatherweight
Reach70[3] in (178 cm)
Fighting out ofBristol, England
TeamTeam Alpha Male
RankBlack belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu under Pedro Bessa[4]
Years active2011–present
Mixed martial arts record
Total16
Wins12
By knockout2
By submission5
By decision5
Losses4
By knockout1
By decision3
Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog

Mixed martial arts career

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Early career

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Narimani started his professional mma career in 2011 and he won the Cage Warriors Fighting Championship featherweight championship against Paddy Pimblett in April 2017[5] with a record of 10-2 period he signed with the UFC.[6]

Ultimate Fighting Championship

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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, replacing injured Alex Reyes.[7][8] 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.[9]

Narimani's UFC debut was rescheduled on 22 July 2018 against Khalid Taha at UFC Fight Night: Shogun vs. Smith.[10] He won the fight via unanimous decision.[11]

Narimani was scheduled to face Enrique Barzola on 17 November 2018 at UFC Fight Night: Magny vs. Ponzinibbio.[12] However, Barzola was pulled from the event and he was replaced by Anderson dos Santos.[13] He won the fight via unanimous decision.[14]

Narimani next faced Mike Grundy on 16 March 2019 at UFC Fight Night: Till vs. Masvidal.[15][16] Narimani lost the fight via TKO in the second round.[17]

Narimani was scheduled to face Nik Lentz at UFC Fight Night: Blaydes vs. dos Santos on 25 January 2020.[18] However, Narimani pulled out of the fight citing injury and was replaced by Arnold Allen.[19]

Narimani faced Grant Dawson on 19 July 2020 at UFC Fight Night: Figueiredo vs. Benavidez 2.[20] He lost the fight via unanimous decision.[21] He was subsequently released by the UFC.[22]

Personal life

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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.[23]

Championships and accomplishments

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Mixed martial arts

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Mixed martial arts record

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Professional record breakdown
16 matches12 wins4 losses
By knockout21
By submission50
By decision53
Res.RecordOpponentMethodEventDateRoundTimeLocationNotes
Loss12–4Grant DawsonDecision (unanimous)UFC Fight Night: Figueiredo vs. Benavidez 219 July 202035:00Abu Dhabi, United Arab EmiratesCatchweight (150 lb) bout.
Loss12–3Mike GrundyTKO (punches)UFC Fight Night: Till vs. Masvidal16 March 201924:42London, England
Win12–2Anderson dos SantosDecision (unanimous)UFC Fight Night: Magny vs. Ponzinibbio17 November 201835:00Buenos Aires, Argentina
Win11–2Khalid TahaDecision (unanimous)UFC Fight Night: Shogun vs. Smith22 July 201835:00Hamburg, Germany
Win10–2Paddy PimblettDecision (unanimous)Cage Warriors Fighting Championship 821 April 201755:00Liverpool, EnglandWon the Cage Warriors Featherweight Championship.
Win9–2Daniel RequeijoSubmission (guillotine choke)Cage Warriors Fighting Championship 764 June 201631:21Newport, Wales
Win8–2Jeremy PetleyTKO (punches)BAMMA 234 November 201512:26Birmingham, England
Loss7–2Alex EnlundDecision (unanimous)Cage Warriors Fighting Championship 731 November 201455:00Newcastle upon Tyne, EnglandFor the vacant Cage Warriors Featherweight Championship.
Win7–1Benjamin BranderSubmission (rear-naked choke)Cage Warriors Fighting Championship 6415 February 201414:53London, England
Win6–1Athinodoros MichailidisSubmission (rear-naked choke)Cage Warriors Fighting Championship 605 October 201313:42London, England
Loss5–1Graham TurnerDecision (split)Cage Warriors Fighting Championship 566 July 201335:00London, England
Win5–0Karsten LenjointDecision (unanimous)Fight UK 920 April 201335:00Leicester, England
Win4–0Marcin WrzosekDecision (split)Fight UK 817 November 201235:00Leicester, England
Win3–0Maksym MatusSubmission (triangle choke)Cage Conflict 1428 August 201210:53Manchester, England
Win2–0Alex BrunnenSubmission (rear-naked choke)Tear Up 7: Murch vs. Paul19 November 201124;28Bristol, England
Win1–0Harvey DinesTKO (corner stoppage)KnuckleUp MMA: The New Breed 716 July 201124:42Somerset, England

[1]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b Sherdog.com. "Nad". Sherdog. Retrieved 17 March 2019.
  2. ^ "Nad Narimani aiming to be One Step Ahead of Dos Santos at UFC Argentina". Metro. 16 November 2018. Retrieved 18 March 2019.
  3. ^ "Nad Narimani | UFC". www.ufc.com. 14 September 2018. Retrieved 17 March 2019.
  4. ^ Daniel Vreeland (17 July 2020). "UFC Fight Island 2's Nad Narimani: Grant Dawson Brings Nothing New". cagesidepress.com.
  5. ^ a b "Cage Warriors 82 results: Nad Narimani upsets Paddy Pimblett to take featherweight title". MMA Junkie. 2 April 2017. Retrieved 17 March 2019.
  6. ^ "Welcome to the UFC: Nad Narimani". MMA Today. 13 March 2018. Retrieved 17 March 2019.
  7. ^ "Alex Reyes Out of UFC London, Replacements Campaigning for Fight". MMA Today. 17 March 2019. Retrieved 27 October 2018.
  8. ^ King, John (17 March 2019). "Nad Narimani in on short notice vs Nasrat Haqparast at UFC London - MMASucka.com". MMASucka.com. Retrieved 27 October 2018.
  9. ^ "Nasrat Haqparast eye condition scraps fight with Nad Narimani at UFC-London". MMAjunkie. 17 March 2018. Retrieved 17 March 2019.
  10. ^ "Nad Narimani победи Khalid Taha в дебюта си за UFC — MMA.BG". mma.bg (in Bulgarian). Retrieved 17 March 2019.
  11. ^ "UFC Fight Night 134 results: Nad Narimani takedown attack grinds out Khalid Taha". MMA Junkie. 22 July 2018. Retrieved 17 March 2019.
  12. ^ Head, Simon (11 September 2018). "Nad Narimani draws Argentina assignment for second UFC bout". Simon Head. Retrieved 17 March 2019.
  13. ^ "Nad Narimani v Anderson dos Santos: British fighter eyes second win in UFC". 15 November 2018. Retrieved 17 March 2019.
  14. ^ "Nad Narimani Overcomes Late Replacement Anderson dos Santos At UFC Argentina". MMAnytt.com. 18 November 2018. Retrieved 17 March 2019.
  15. ^ Fiedel, Michael (31 January 2019). "Mike Grundy to make long-awaited UFC debut in London". The Body Lock. Retrieved 17 March 2019.
  16. ^ "UFC Fight Night: Till vs. Masvidal". Ultimate Fighting Championship. 5 November 2018. Retrieved 19 December 2018.
  17. ^ "UFC London results: Mike Grundy debuts with second-round stoppage over Nad Narimani". MMA Junkie. 16 March 2019. Retrieved 17 March 2019.
  18. ^ Peter Carroll (3 January 2020). "Nik Lentz vs. Nad Narimani booked for UFC Raleigh". mmafighting.com.
  19. ^ MMA Fighting newswire (15 January 2020). "Arnold Allen set to face Nik Lentz at UFC Raleigh". mmafighting.com.
  20. ^ Farah Hannoun (15 June 2020). "UFC adds Grant Dawson vs. Nad Narimani to July 18 event in Abu Dhabi". mmajunkie.usatoday.com.
  21. ^ McClory, Mike (18 July 2020). "UFC Fight Island 2 Results: Grant Dawson Earns Dominant Win Over Nad Narimani". Cageside Press. Retrieved 19 July 2020.
  22. ^ Simon, Zane (20 August 2020). "'This is how it works' - Dana White reminds fighters that more DWCS signings means more cuts". Bloody Elbow. Retrieved 9 September 2020.
  23. ^ McDonnell, Graeme (30 March 2017). "Nad Narimani: "Paddy normally talks trash about his opponent, but he hasn't with me, he knows the score"". Retrieved 16 January 2020.
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