From War-Torn Afghanistan To The UFC: The Making Of Farid Basharat | Exclusive
From War-Torn Afghanistan To The UFC: The Making Of Farid Basharat | Exclusive Written By, Last Updated: July 11, 2026, 13:37 IST From leaving war-torn
From War-Torn Afghanistan To The UFC: The Making Of Farid Basharat | Exclusive Written By, Last Updated: July 11, 2026, 13:37 IST From leaving war-torn Afghanistan as a child to his ongoing unbeaten run in UFC, Farid Basharat's journey has been shaped by family, resilience and relentless pursuit. Farid Basharat opens up on what it takes to succeeds in a "chaotic sport". (AFP Photo) There is a calmness about Farid Basharat when he talks about change. Days before UFC 329, the unbeaten bantamweight was told that the opponent he has spent weeks preparing for would no longer be standing across from him. Ethyn Ewing was out. John Garza was in. Late opponent changes aren’t new to mixed martial arts, but they often force fighters to rethink their preparation while making tactical adjustments on the fly. But Basharat refuses to let one affect the other. “It’s just tactical adjustments," he tells News18 Sports. “Mentally, the most important thing is to not reset mentally. You keep the exact same focus, the exact same momentum, the exact same positivity going into the fight because ultimately, regardless of who the opponent was or is going to be, I plan on winning and looking spectacular. “So now that it’s been changed to a different opponent, it’s just the tactical adjustments. But ultimately, I focus on myself the most because you can’t worry about your opponent too much. You have to focus on what you’re going to do in the cage." The response neatly encapsulates the mindset behind one of the UFC’s most quietly impressive unbeaten records. Basharat enters UFC 329 with a perfect 15-0 professional record and six consecutive victories inside the Octagon after earning his contract on Dana White’s Contender Series in 2022. The Afghan-born Englishman has developed a reputation as one of the bantamweight division’s most technically complete fighters, someone comfortable wherever a fight unfolds. That pursuit of becoming a complete mixed martial artist has defined much of his career. Long before mixed martial arts became his profession, his childhood was shaped by upheaval and a family searching for safety. “It was the late ’90s and, as we all know, Afghanistan was a country that was riddled with a lot of problems and war, unfortunately," Basharat recalls. His father made the decision: the family needs to be somewhere safe. “My father was looking to relocate us somewhere that was a little bit safer, where there wasn’t fighting going on. When I was born, my father actually came to England to begin an asylum process. Then three years later he came back. So, when I was about three years old, we all moved to London together," Basharat said. “When you’re a child, you’re under the protection of your family. I had a couple of older brothers. I recall playing with my brothers a lot, especially in the parks, playing with my parents in the parks. Those are some of my earliest memories," he added. A new life in England came with its own adjustments.
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