Siyar Bahadurzada: ‘I Came Back to Conquer’

MMAjunkie Radio recently interviewed UFC welterweight fighter Siyar Bahadurzada on his recent comeback win over Luan Chagas. Below are some highlights.

Bahadurzada on 2018 being his year: “This is the year that things are going to happen for me. I’m very determined. I’m very excited. I’m injury-free.”

Siyar Bahadurzada on growing up in Afghanistan: “I grew up in Afghanistan in the war, and I’ve been through a lot of sh-t. I walked over dead bodies as a little kid, running for my life, from civil war. I’ve been through a lot of sh-t. But this? Two years of me being so down, six feet under the ground – it cooked me on a different level, man. It actually ignited the champion inside of me that I want to become. I didn’t come back to just show up, win one or two, and then lose one or two – and then at the end of my career call it quits and whatever whenever it feels like I can’t do it anymore. There is no such thing like that. I came back to conquer. I came back to be a champion. And I’m going to show it. I will break them all. One by one.”

Siyar Bahadurzada on becoming a role model: “Now that I’m in this position, I’m trying to ignite the champion inside those little kids. I want to give them hope. Because they don’t have hope. I didn’t have hope when I was in Afghanistan. Because you didn’t know what day would be your last day and what rocket or bullet has your name written on it. When you walk out of the house, you don’t know if you’ll return because of the suicide attacks in Afghanistan. I want to give these people hope. I want them to focus on training and not on drugs or anything else. Because we have poverty in Afghanistan, but what we also have is the courage and bravery to be somebody big – to make it to the top.”

On who he wants to fight next: “Robbie Lawler would be a great fight. He’s a tough guy. He comes to fight. I come to fight. We have a very similar style of fighting. I think that will make up for a fight of the decade. If Robbie Lawler would like to fight, I would love (it).”