Owais Yaqoob

Owais Yaqoob (born 1998) is an Indian professional mixed martial artist who competes in the lightweight division. He is the first professional MMA fighter from Murran village of Pulwama district of Kashmir and trains at the American Kickboxing Academy (AKA) under Khabib Nurmagomedov and Javier Mendez. In October 2025, Nurmagomedov publicly praised Yaqoob's progress during training.

Early life Owais Yaqoob was born in 1998 in Murran village, Pulwama district, Jammu and Kashmir, India. He began training in martial arts in 2013, starting with taekwondo. Over the following decade, Yaqoob competed in national taekwondo competitions, winning 11 gold medals and six silver medals. Mixed martial arts career Prior to turning professional, Yaqoob won three National Amateur MMA titles. He started his Amateur MMA journey in 2018 Learning MMA Wrestling/ Jiu-jitsu and Kickboxing under Coach Gurkaran Singh Sawhney at Indian Top Team(iTT) Fight Club in Chandigarh . Representing iTT he Won Multiple Amateur MMA National Championships and Eventually got selected for Tiger Shroffs Matrix Fight Night(MFN) .He also did striking and footwork at Soma Fight Club in Bali, Indonesia, and spent two months at the Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov School in Dagestan, Russia, under Khabib & Islam Makhachev which changed the trajectory of his life, MMA career and stardom.

Yaqoob made his professional MMA debut on 31 March 2023 at Matrix Fight Night 11 in New Delhi, where he lost to Neeraj Panghal via third-round submission (guillotine choke).

He secured his first professional win on 9 March 2024 against Azim Mokhlis at Matrix Fight Night 14 by unanimous decision.

Yaqoob earned back-to-back knockout victories in 2025. On 19 April 2025, he stopped Shetty Pratik Sadashiv via second-round TKO (punches) at Veswa Fight Championship 4 in Panchkula, Haryana. His most recent fight, on 19 September 2025, saw him make his debut for Brave Combat Federation at BRAVE CF 98 in Zhengzhou, China, where he defeated Ian Paul Lora via first-round TKO (punches).

In October 2023, Yaqoob was signed as a brand ambassador for Cemtac Cements, a Kashmir-based company.

Yaqoob founded Lion's Den Martial Arts Academy in Pulwama in 2015, where he has trained over 200 youths in martial arts; several of his students have represented Jammu and Kashmir at the national level and won medals.

As of May 2026, Yaqoob holds a professional record of 5–1 and is ranked 11th among professional men's lightweights in South Asia by Tapology. He has expressed his goal of competing in the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

Owais knocked out Delyan Georgiev in 1st 4 minutes at BRAVE Combat Federation on August 1st 2026.

Mixed martial arts record Win

Delyan Georgiev TKO (punches) Brave CF 107

Burgas, Bulgaria Win

Mehmet Can Tasdoven TKO (knee and punches) Brave CF 103

Bukhara, Uzbekistan Win

Ian Paul Lora TKO (submission to punches) Brave CF 98

Zhengzhou, China Win

Shetty Pratik Sadashiv TKO (punches) Veswa FC 4

Panchkula, India Win

Amanzhol Khaisa Decision (unanimous) Naiza FC 70

Semey, Kazakhstan Win

Mohammad Azim Mokhlis Decision (unanimous) Matrix Fight Night 14

Noida, India Loss

Neeraj Panghal Submission (guillotine choke) Matrix Fight Night 11

New Delhi, India