I spoke to rising star Shoaib “The Assassin” Yousaf about how he began fighting, how COVID-19 has affected his training, and also his aspirations and where he would like to be in the next 5 years.
Shoaib started off learning boxing and his parents, mainly his father made him learn fighting as a form of self-defence.Yousaf idolized British Pakistani boxer Amir Khan, wanting to take after his footsteps and become a professional boxer, however, it wasn’t until he matured in the fighting game that he realized he could implement the boxing knowledge he had picked up and apply the skill set into MMA. A style of fighting he would then go on to pursue.
“I have always been involved in fighting since a young age. My father put me into it for self defence and it went on from there.”
Figure 1 - Shoaib Yousaf (Left) pictured with his idol Amir Khan (right)
The sport of MMA has been affected heavily by COVID-19, even as recently as January 4th, 2021. A UFC fight between Anthony Hernandez and Rodolfo Vieira was scheduled but has had to be pushed back due to a positive test from Hernandez. However, Covid-19 and lockdown has also affected outside the hexagon as gyms closing means there are limits for training and preparation for fighters. Of course, the rise of the pandemic has meant the UFC has had to find measures to still bring fights to our screens. To do this, the MMA giants arranged for a “fight island”. An idea put forward by President of the UFC, Dana White. White confirmed to the media and the world that fights will be taking place on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi. This location was ideal because it meant fighters could overcome some travel restrictions but are still instructed to remain in their hotel rooms until a negative COVID-19 test in presented.
The fights are streamed across the globe and take place with no fans in the stadium – a quite surreal atmosphere to fight in for MMA stars used to fighting at the highest level. However, viewership numbers and audience engagement has also lacked as there have not been many stand out or headline fights. Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Conor McGregor remains the highest selling pay-per-view fight in the history of the sport with 2.4 million buys.
COVID-19 has certainly affected cash flow as it has negatively with many sports around the globe, and it has also made more fighters prone to “ring rust” – an idea that mental and physical sharpness is lost after a long time away from the ring or gym. Something else to consider is the negative affect it will have on fighters mentally, knowing their fights could be in jeopardy would definitely have an impact of them whilst training.
When asked about how lockdown and COVID-19 has affected his training and preparation, Shoaib answered:
“Lockdown has affected my training and preparation because gyms are closed and obviously, we need the gym to be open and need groups of to us train properly and at moment it’s difficult”
“preparations haven’t been great.”
Since going into MMA, The Assassin has had a quite remarkable unbeaten amateur career with a record of 11 wins and 0 losses. It was this record which landed him the IMMAF Featherweight World Championship in 2016. Shoaib also made his professional debut and then also added a Pro European UKFC championship to his fast-growing list of accolades. In his professional career, Assassin has fought 9 times, losing twice and winning 7. Shoaib has impressed on many stages and is used to the lights and the pressure. It should not shock anybody if we see him fighting on the big stage in the years to come, Shoaib also hopes he can make it onto the grandest stage in MMA. When asked what position he would like to be in 5 years from now, Yousaf said:
“5 years from now hopefully I would like to be in the UFC insha Allah [God Willing].”