Passion and commitment are two drives that not only push one to reach a certain goal but to strive for higher goals that will continue until satisfaction is achieved. The world of Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) is one that presents fighters that are not only committed to the art but also have made drastic lifestyle changes in order to fulfill their goals associated with being MMA fighters. MMA is a full-contact combat sport that allows the use of both striking and grappling techniques, both standing and on the ground, from a variety of other combat sports and martial arts. The sport can be used for multiple purposes such as self-defense, entertainment, increasing physical health and fitness and competitions and can be a mix of different sports such as boxing, Brazilian jiu-jitsu, karate, kick boxing and much much more. It takes years of training, discipline, ups and downs and a lot of mental restraint and training for an MMA trainee to reach a fighter’s level. Competitions are held for those who have reached an elite level, surpassed the mental restraints, committed themselves to the lifestyle and comprehends the rules and regulations the UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship) organization demands.
The UFC started in 1993 as the world’s fastest growing sports organization. As a professional mixed martial arts (MMA) organization, it not only was the fastest growing, it has revolutionized the fight game. The UFC enforces these rules and regulations in order to keep fighters in a safe disciplined environment, for some see this sport as an extremely violent one when the truth is it is all about the discipline. One Saudi has committed himself to the sport, has transformed his life and self in order to achieve his growing goals as he trained more and more. A young man whose role models include Canadian George St. Pierre (the top MMA Welterweight of all time and the number one most accomplished MMA fighter in MMA history) and Brazilian Anderson da Silva (former UFC Middleweight Champion, who held the longest title defense streak in UFC with 16 consecutive wins and 10 title defenses), which tells a lot of his goals. Abdul Aziz Julaidan is his name, a 26-year-old Saudi who is not only an MMA fighter, but a champ! A feather weight title holder and a history maker who became the first Saudi to win a title at the first Desert Force Championship last December, also the first ever to be held in Saudi Arabia. This young man has made his fellow MMA lovers proud by winning and achieving such great success in just a few seconds. This is Abdul Aziz’s amazing story.
How did you get involved with the world of MMA?
In my teenage years, I was always an enthusiastic watcher of UFC and enjoyed watching MMA fighters in the ring. When moving to Switzerland for my high school years, I found a boxing club and thought of just trying it out. After some time, I grew to really enjoy and like the sport and then went in for three years of training. I would still be watching UFC fights but was very hesitant to take the step to actually compete, for I was competing in amateur boxing matches at the time but MMA was a more intense step due to the risk of injuries and what not.
Watching fights is not the same as actual performance ironically. As with any type of training, one gets bored after repeating the same thing over and over so I moved on to jiu-jitsu and Muay Thai at an MMA Academy in Montreoux and saw how the world of MMA is different from what I would see on television, it was something I found myself attracted to and three months in, I made the decision to commit. A year later I received a blue belt in jiu-jitsu and started competing in amateur competitions. It wasn’t planned from the start but I made a commitment and I haven’t broken that until now.
How did your family take it?
It was very difficult for my parents and they’re very much against it, naturally they’re afraid for my safety but they respect my decision, that’s how parents are, protective and I understand. My brothers on the other hand are my number one supporters.
There’s a drastic lifestyle change that you have to go through as an MMA fighter, healthy diet regimens, many hours of training, a lot of mental release and focus. Was it difficult to get there and be fully dedicated to such a lifestyle change?
It’s not so impossible if you put your mind to it. It’s a mindset and you have to understand that each decision you make affects you in your training and in a future fight. I weighed 79 kilos in my first fight, thinking that I would do good since I was training for it for a very long time, I didn’t have a strict regimen back then, I just went with the flow of things, my trainer told me straight out that I will suffer. And I did! After the fight, I decided that change was a must in everything! My diet, my workouts, how I spend my time away from the gym… all that had to change and I had to sacrifice a lot such as hanging out with friends. I needed to sleep well, I needed to eat properly and I need to fully understand what I was up against. It takes a toll on you mentally, I did it by choice but then you reach a time where you just want to break down. I reached that breakdown point but when I remembered that this is a great opportunity and this is what I’m passionate about, this is what I want to be doing, I picked myself up and trained mentally as well so everything can function together equally.
The most difficult part of any fight is not the fight itself, it’s the preparation for the fight. Training, eating healthy on a strict schedule and sleep all need to be balanced and you reach a point and think “when is this ever going to end?!”. It’s not for the light hearted.
What drives you and pushes you to continue on, even with all the pre-fight stress you go through, how do you do it?
What drives me is the need to see how far I can test myself, to see if I’m able to do it or not, the desire to not want to disappoint my supporters, my friends, coaches and lastly, the cage. Winning or losing is not as important as getting into the cage and showing what I’ve trained for, the cage determines how much I’ve gained in achievements and it’s the one place where you see if you are a worthy fighter or not.
You’ve recently won the Shield and you’ve gained the champion title for Desert Force, how was the fight for you and how did you feel after it?
I’m at a loss for words; elated, overjoyed, thrilled … you get the picture. I’ve trained so hard for this fight and I went in for the win.
Who do you feel is your toughest opponent?
From my past fights, I thought that Abdul-Kareem Al-Selwady was my toughest but turned out that he was my easiest opponent, I won my title fighting against him. I was the only person who chose to go for the TKO (technical knockout) and my trainers and I agreed that I had to get in there and do so as quick as possible. Abdul-Kareem had the stamina and a strong chance of keeping his title. There’s history between us and I really thought this was going to be tough. I’ve gotten myself injured the last time we were supposed to fight, but due to my knee injury I backed down and he made it seem that I was scared of him, his arrogance got a hold of him claiming that he can easily knock me out and that made me more determined to win against him. There’s a lot of competition in this sport, and to win over Al-Selwady was a great achievement.
A note to readers: The newly crowned champ made quick work of the reigning champ, as he entered the cage, adrenaline kicked in as he threw the left hook, proceeded to batter the former champ with punches while on the cage mat thus resulting in Desert Force referee, Yazan Ghattas to forcefully stop the fight, less than 30 seconds into the first round. The surge of adrenaline went on as he climbed at the top of the cage over and over again.
What would you say to someone who wants to become an MMA fighter?
The first thing they have to understand is that it’s not a violent sport and it’s not a game. There is a great deal of discipline and drastic lifestyle changes that come with it, you’re still allowed a cheat meal once a week of course, but that doesn’t mean Al-Baik all day long. You have to follow the rules, you have to obey the trainers, you will grow to respect the sport and understand that by not doing any of the three pointers, you’re putting yourself at risk for serious injuries and will not progress in the world of MMA. It is mind over matter and it’s an incredible sport once you dedicate yourself to it.
Be sure to follow and watch Aziz in his upcoming competitions on his official Facebook page “Aziz Julaidan” and view some pre-competition prep photos on his Instagram page, Aziz Julaidan. This is one fighter you sure don’t want to skip out on, a true keeper of his word as he put his fist where his mouth was and in his words, “kept the Shield in my home country (KSA)”.
—
Email: [email protected]
Aziz Julaidan: The Desert Force champ who’s making history
Aziz Julaidan: The Desert Force champ who’s making history
How TV shows like ‘Mo’ and ‘Muslim Matchmaker’ allow Arab and Muslim Americans to tell their stories
How TV shows like ‘Mo’ and ‘Muslim Matchmaker’ allow Arab and Muslim Americans to tell their stories
- In addition to “Mo,” shows like “Muslim Matchmaker,” hosted by matchmakers Hoda Abrahim and Yasmin Elhady, connect Muslim Americans from around the country with the goal of finding a spouse
COLUMBUS, Ohio: Whether it’s stand-up comedy specials or a dramedy series, when Muslim American Mo Amer sets out to create, he writes what he knows.
The comedian, writer and actor of Palestinian descent has received critical acclaim for it, too. The second season of Amer’s “Mo” documents Mo Najjar and his family’s tumultuous journey reaching asylum in the United States as Palestinian refugees.
Amer’s show is part of an ongoing wave of television from Arab American and Muslim American creators who are telling nuanced, complicated stories about identity without falling into stereotypes that Western media has historically portrayed.
“Whenever you want to make a grounded show that feels very real and authentic to the story and their cultural background, you write to that,” Amer told The Associated Press. “And once you do that, it just feels very natural, and when you accomplish that, other people can see themselves very easily.”
At the start of its second season, viewers find Najjar running a falafel taco stand in Mexico after he was locked in a van transporting stolen olive trees across the US-Mexico border. Najjar was trying to retrieve the olive trees and return them to the farm where he, his mother and brother are attempting to build an olive oil business.
Both seasons of “Mo” were smash hits on Netflix. The first season was awarded a Peabody. His third comedy special on Netflix, “Mo Amer: Wild World,” premiered in October.
Narratively, the second season ends before the Hamas attack in Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, but the series itself doesn’t shy away from addressing Israeli-Palestinian relations, the ongoing conflict in Gaza or what it’s like for asylum seekers detained in US Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention centers.
In addition to “Mo,” shows like “Muslim Matchmaker,” hosted by matchmakers Hoda Abrahim and Yasmin Elhady, connect Muslim Americans from around the country with the goal of finding a spouse.
The animated series, “#1 Happy Family USA,” created by Ramy Youssef, who worked with Amer to create “Mo,” and Pam Brady, follows an Egyptian American Muslim family navigating life in New Jersey after the 9/11 terrorists attack in New York.
Current events have an influence
The key to understanding the ways in which Arab or Muslim Americans have been represented on screen is to be aware of the “historical, political, cultural and social contexts” in which the content was created, said Sahar Mohamed Khamis, a University of Maryland professor who studies Arab and Muslim representation in media.
After the 9/11 attacks, Arabs and Muslims became the villains in many American films and TV shows. The ethnic background of Arabs and the religion of Islam were portrayed as synonymous, too, Khamis said. The villain, Khamis said, is often a man with brown skin with an Arab-sounding name.
A show like “Muslim Matchmaker” flips this narrative on its head, Elhady said, by showing the ethnic diversity of Muslim Americans.
“It’s really important to have shows that show us as everyday Americans,” said Elhady, who is Egyptian and Libyan American, “but also as people that live in different places and have kind of sometimes dual realities and a foot in the East and a foot in the West and the reality of really negotiating that context.”
Before 9/11, people living in the Middle East were often portrayed to Western audiences as exotic beings, living in tents in the desert and riding camels. Women often had little to no agency in these media depictions and were “confined to the harem” — a secluded location for women in a traditional Muslim home.
This idea, Khamis said, harkens back to the term “orientalism,” which Palestinian American academic, political activist and literary critic Edward Said coined in his 1978 book of the same name.
Khamis said, pointing to countries like Britain and France, the portrayal in media of people from the region was “created and manufactured, not by the people themselves, but through the gaze of an outsider. The outsiders in this case, he said, were the colonial/imperialist powers that were actually controlling these lands for long periods of time.”
Among those who study the ways Arabs have been depicted on Western television, a common critique is that the characters are “bombers, billionaires or belly dancers,” she said.
The limits of representation
Sanaz Alesafar, executive director of Storyline Partners and an Iranian American, said she has seen some “wins” with regard to Arab representation in Hollywood, noting the success of “Mo,” “Muslim Matchmaker” and “#1 Happy Family USA.” Storyline Partners helps writers, showrunners, executives and creators check the historical and cultural backgrounds of their characters and narratives to assure they’re represented fairly and that one creator’s ideas don’t infringe upon another’s.
Alesafar argues there is still a need for diverse stories told about people living in the Middle East and the English-speaking diaspora, written and produced by people from those backgrounds.
“In the popular imagination and popular culture, we’re still siloed in really harmful ways,” she said. “Yes, we’re having these wins and these are incredible, but that decision-making and centers of power still are relegating us to these tropes and these stereotypes.”
Deana Nassar, an Egyptian American who is head of creative talent at film production company Alamiya Filmed Entertainment, said it’s important for her children to see themselves reflected on screen “for their own self image.” Nassar said she would like to see a diverse group of people in decision-making roles in Hollywood. Without that, it’s “a clear indication that representation is just not going to get us all the way there,” she said.
Representation can impact audiences’ opinions on public policy, too, according to a recent study by the Institute for Social Policy and Understanding. Results showed that the participants who witnessed positive representation of Muslims were less likely to support anti-democratic and anti-Muslim policies compared to those who viewed negative representations.
For Amer, limitations to representation come from the decision-makers who greenlight projects, not from creators. He said the success of shows like his and others are a “start,” but he wants to see more industry recognition for his work and the work of others like him.
“That’s the thing, like just keep writing, that’s all it’s about,” he said. “Just keep creating and keep making and thankfully I have a really deep well for that, so I’m very excited about the next things,” he said.
