Back in January we developed a bit of a man crush on Makwan Amirkhani. The Finnish fighter stepped up to the UFC and did this within eight seconds of his debut against Andy Ogle.
It was incredible to watch and his handling of the media in the aftermath of the win was almost as impressive as the TKO victory. With just one win and some delightful soundbites, Amirkhani became a fan favourite and given that he's a featherweight we were already thinking (far into the future) about the most charismatic fight possible.
McGregor vs Amirkhani is miles off when you consider where they're at in their respective careers but we can't help but dream. Amirkhani followed up that debut win with another first round stoppage against Masio Fullen in June but it seems he's less than happy with the direction his career has taken and now he's looking to Ireland after leaving the Allstars gym in Stockholm.
Mr.Finland is looking for a new gym @ufc
— Makwan Amirkhani (@MakwanAmirkhani) November 30, 2015
In addition @MakwanAmirkhani told me he would like to move to Ireland and train at @SBG_Ireland under @John_Kavanagh
— Chamatkar Sandhu (@SandhuMMA) November 30, 2015
Like i said, IF Ireland Will show me the green light, i Will move there after new year! @SBG_Ireland
— Makwan Amirkhani (@MakwanAmirkhani) November 30, 2015
Sure enough, John Kavanagh was on hand to extend an invite.
@MakwanAmirkhani @bob_loblaw_75 @SBG_Ireland email [email protected] and we'll work it out 👌
— Coach Kavanagh (@John_Kavanagh) November 30, 2015
We're incredibly excited about this. Amirkhani has the ability to make it big and he could certainly bring a lot to SBG as well as learning a fair amount. If Conor McGregor decides to stick around at featherweight then he could have a competitor very close to home. And he decides to move up then we know who we're throwing our hat behind at 145lb.
See also: Makwan Amirkhani Debuts With One Of The Quickest TKO's In UFC History
See also: Watch Out Conor McGregor, There's A New Media Darling In The Featherweight Division
[Via /r/mma]
