Fighter Focus: Amir Sadollah

When the Ultimate Fighting Championship announced that they were going to produce a reality show, giving fighters the chance to compete for a three-year, six figure contract in the UFC, many people thought that it would never last. In the nine seasons following the first, the Ultimate Fighter has continued to show promising young fighters compete for a spot in the UFC. 

On season seven, the middleweights got their turn on the show. This was, in my opinion, one of the most talent filled seasons of the show so far. A few fighters stood out immediately to me; Matt Brown, Matthew Riddle, CB Dolloway, Jesse Taylor, and Amir Sadollah. 

Amir Sadollah stood out the most in the cast to me because of his humble and quiet demeanor. He isn’t into trash talking and gets in and gets the job done. He cracks jokes and makes fun of himself, appears to be extremely laid back, and doesn't worry to much about…well, anything. 

Amir was one of the best strikers on the show, having four years of Muay Thai training under his belt when getting cast, and having a decent ground game. He finished all of his opponents on the show, and moved on to the finale where he faced the tough wrestler CB Dollaway.

Amir submitted CB in the first round via armbar and was crowned the Ultimate Fighter. 

He lost his first fight in the UFC—a UFC 101 bout against UFC newcomer Johny Hendricks. Hendricks TKO’d Amir in the first round. Many thought that the fight was stopped early, due mainly to the fact that Amir was recovering when the referee jumped in and stopped the fight. Amir’s next to fights went much better for him. 

He faced Phil Baroni at UFC 106. The fight was in Amir’s control the entire time. He delivered a brutal barrage of punches throughout the fight and chopped him down with leg kicks. Amir earned the nod from the judges and won via unanimous decision. 

After the bout against Baroni, Amir faced striker Brad Blackburn. The fight was a good three round fight that saw Amir get the nod from the judges once again. 

Despite a rocky start to his UFC career, Amir has recovered beautifully and will hopefully continue to do so in the coming days. Amir can attribute his success in the octagon most likely do to his crisp striking ability.

His Muay Thai is probably some of the best in the UFC’s Welterweight division at this point in time. His ground game is far from close to the best in the division, though.

And the best part? He continues to evolve and become a better fighter. 

Where some fighters try to get better but cant seem to get to the next level, Amir has looked better and better in every outing. Even in his fight against Hendricks he looked very good. 

The newest UFC magazine referred to Amir as a “welterweight contender”, and even though he is not near the top of the heap in the division, the argument could be made that he is possibly in the top ten.

Is he only two or three wins away from a title? No. Amir has a very long and hard road ahead of him in order to get to the top and fight for the belt. But will he get there someday? The chances are very good. 

If he continues to improve, win, and show his talent, then its inevitable that he will at some point in his career will get a title shot. Then again, that’s true with almost every fighter in MMA. 

Amir is personally one of my favorite fighters, and I love watching him compete. Even if you don’t agree with anything that I have said, you have to give it to Amir that he has a bright future in the sport and is always entertaining.