1. Ilir Latifi was born on July 28,1983 and is a Swedish mixed martial artist who fights in the Heavyweight division, most recently in the Ultimate Fighting Championship.
41 Facts About Ilir Latifi
1. 2.
Ilir Latifi continued to wrestle in order to pursue his dream of one day being world champion.
3.
Ilir Latifi competed at the 2005 ADCC European trials, where his division was won by Alistair Overeem, but he did not earn a spot at the 2005 ADCC championships.
4.
Back in professional competition Ilir Latifi had his last fight as a heavyweight, before dropping down to light heavyweight, on October 25,2008, at Superior Challenge 2, where he defeated Roman Mihocka by knockout in the second round.
5.
Ilir Latifi holds a notable win over MMA- and kickboxing veteran Tony Lopez.
6.
Ilir Latifi used his superior wrestling and his improved striking to shut Lopez down to win a unanimous decision.
7.
Ilir Latifi has fought against former Bellator Light Heavyweight champion and former MFC Light Heavyweight Champion Emanuel Newton and Tatsuya Mizuno.
8.
Ilir Latifi became the first Superior Challenge Light Heavyweight Champion after defeating Jorge Oliveira for the vacant belt on October 6,2012, at Superior Challenge 8.
9.
Ilir Latifi won the fight via submission in the first round.
10.
Ilir Latifi was later expected to face Tom Lawlor on July 19,2014, at UFC Fight Night 46.
11.
Ilir Latifi effectively used leg kicks to disable his opponent, before finishing him with punches, ending the fight via first-round knockout.
12.
Ilir Latifi lost the fight via TKO in the first round.
13.
Ilir Latifi next faced Hans Stringer on July 18,2015, at UFC Fight Night 72.
14.
Ilir Latifi won the fight by knockout after dropping Stringer with an overhand right and following up with punches on the ground, stopping the fight 56 seconds into the first round.
15.
Ilir Latifi faced Sean O'Connell on January 17,2016, at UFC Fight Night 81.
16.
Ilir Latifi won the fight by knockout, having landed a vicious overhand right that wobbled O'Connell, followed by a right hook that dropped him to the canvas, 28 seconds into the first round.
17.
Ilir Latifi faced Gian Villante on March 5,2016, at UFC 196.
18.
Ilir Latifi next faced Ryan Bader on September 3,2016, at UFC Fight Night 93.
19.
Ilir Latifi lost the fight via knockout in the second round.
20.
Ilir Latifi was expected to face Antonio Rogerio Nogueira on June 25,2017, at UFC Fight Night 112.
21.
Ilir Latifi faced undefeated prospect Tyson Pedro on September 9,2017, at UFC 215.
22.
Ilir Latifi won the fight via unanimous decision, handing Pedro the first loss of his career.
23.
Ilir Latifi was expected to face Ovince Saint Preux on January 27,2018, at UFC on Fox 27.
24.
Ilir Latifi won the fight via submission in the first round.
25.
Ilir Latifi was expected to face Glover Teixeira on July 22,2018, at UFC Fight Night 134.
26.
Ilir Latifi faced Corey Anderson on December 29,2018, at UFC 232.
27.
Ilir Latifi was expected to face Volkan Oezdemir on June 1,2019, at UFC Fight Night 153.
28.
On May 30,2019, it was reported that Ilir Latifi was forced to pull out of the event due to back injury and the bout was cancelled.
29.
Ilir Latifi lost the fight via knockout in the second round.
30.
On October 14,2019, news surfaced that Ilir Latifi will be moving up to heavyweight division.
31.
Ilir Latifi faced Derrick Lewis on February 8,2020, at UFC 247.
32.
Ilir Latifi faced Tanner Boser on June 5,2021, at UFC Fight Night: Rozenstruik vs Sakai.
33.
Ilir Latifi was next expected to face Alexander Romanov at UFC Fight Night 202 on February 19,2022.
34.
Ilir Latifi was scheduled to face Alexey Oleynik on March 26,2022, at UFC Fight Night 205.
35.
However, the day of the event, Ilir Latifi withdrew due to illness and the bout was cancelled.
36.
In turn, Ilir Latifi withdrew again for unknown reasons and was replaced by Jared Vanderaa.
37.
Ilir Latifi faced Rodrigo Nascimento on May 20,2023, at UFC Fight Night 223.
38.
On December 11,2024, it was announced that Ilir Latifi was signed by Global Fight League.
39.
Ilir Latifi was raised in Rosengard, where he befriended football player Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
40.
Ilir Latifi's brother Arben, who Ilir has described as his greatest influence in life, is a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu and was one of the pioneers of Swedish MMA in the early days, winning both the championship in European Open BJJ and the Panamerican Championship during his active career.
41.
In 2016, Ilir Latifi was awarded role model of the year and received the most votes for the people's choice award in the annual Swedish martial arts awards ceremony Kampsportsgalan.