Irfan Ahmed makes winning debut in Rich Franklin’s ONE Warrior Series (2019)
Pakistan's emerging boxer, Irfan Ahmed defeated his Nepali counterpart, Sandeep Gurung by arm-bar submission in the first round of Rich Franklin’s ONE Warrior Series (2019) at Singapore.
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Irfan Ahmad becomes the second Pakistani to win at Rich Franklin’s ONE Warrior Series defeating Nepali kickboxing Champion, Sandeep Gurung by arm-bar submission in the first round.
Irfan Ahmad has worked from humble beginnings training at a charity gym called Shaheen in Lahore, started by the “Godfather of Pakistani MMA” Bashir Ahmad and winning on the national level before being called up to compete at ONE Warrior Series.
Irfan would travel back and forth from his home in a small town in Punjab to Lahore in order to train with Bashir Ahmad, who at the time was competing in ONE Championship where he was the first Pakistani to represent the nation on a global stage.
Under Bashir Ahmad’s guidance Irfan went undefeated in national competition, winning all his matches at “PAK MMA Fighting Alliance” before going to represent Pakistan at the International Mixed Martial Arts Amateur Championships in Bahrain in 2017 and 2018. Despite being unable to medal both times, Irfan kept at his craft working with his team mates at Shaheen and also working with Bashir Ahmad’s first student and ONE Championship veteran Waqar Umar.
Irfan was then called up to take part in Rich Franklin’s ONE Warrior Series (OWS) for a chance to win a 100,000 USD contract. On June 20th, Irfan Ahmad made his ONE Debut, winning by submission in the first round and becoming the second Pakistani to win at the proving ground for Asia’s top talent.
The 23-year-old, Irfan was fighting in the straw-weight category at Rich Franklin’s ONE Warrior Series (OWS) against Nepali kickboxing Champion, Sandeep Gurung. Irfan took no time to assert his dominance in the fight as he claims he wanted to have more time within the ring, with more strikes with Gurung, but the opportunity came his way for the submission early.
“Gurung is more of a striker and I wanted to have more strikes from him. It would have been good for me, for my experience, but then I had to seize the opportunity when I saw that I can end the fight with submission. I was not nervous at all. I just wanted the fight to end as quickly as possible.”
Irfan’s win will no doubt not only put him at the forefront of being a potential future star for Pakistan but also will inspire the kids of Shaheen to work harder at whatever they want to be in life. Irfan’s victory opens the possibility for more exposure for Shaheen Academy and its mission.
