Mahmoud “El Deep” Mohamed of Cairo will attempt to snap his two-fight losing streak on Friday Night, 7 October, when he faces the Godfather of Pakistani MMA, Bashir “Somchai” Ahmad, at ONE: STATE OF WARRIORS. The event will take place at the Thuwunna Indoor Stadium in Yangon, Myanmar.
While the 37-year-old has deep appreciation for his opponent’s talent, he remains confident in his own skill level. “I respect him,” Mahmoud says. “He’s good. I’ve seen him fight before. He has all the weapons to defeat me, but I’m also ready and I have some new weapons myself.”
Though Bashir has become famous for pioneering mixed martial arts in Pakistan over the past nine years, the Egyptian MMA scene was also in its infancy during that time and slow to develop. For warriors like Mahmoud, he had to blaze his own trail.
“MMA in Egypt wasn’t much before six years ago,” Mahmoud admits. “I think the main forms of martial arts were kickboxing and wushu.”
Initially a wrestler and kickboxer, Mahmoud jumped headfirst into the fight game in 2013. The man known as “El Deep” joined the ranks of Cairo-based Egyptian Top Team, an MMA camp he has been firmly anchored in, and made his professional debut in February 2013. The bout didn’t go according to plan, however, as he was submitted by Ahmed El Gharib in the opening round at Egyptian FC 9.
Undeterred by the defeat, Mahmoud went back to the drawing board and returned with a vengeance the following year. He went undefeated in 2014, notching two wins via rear-naked choke and another via strikes.
“I love submissions and I am training more in Brazilian jiu-jitsu with my team,” he states.
He’s struggled a bit after those victories. The Egyptian went three hard rounds with Sami Amin in August 2015, earning a draw on the judges score cards after the final bell, and then tapped out to Ali Al-Ahli in December 2015.
Despite those losses, he caught the attention of ONE Championship and signed with the largest MMA organization in Asia. “El Deep” made his debut in the promotion this past January when he faced off against dangerous teen prospect Christian Lee at ONE: CLASH OF HEROES in KL, Malaysia. Lee outworked Mahmoud and submitted him via kimura just two minutes and twenty seconds into the first round.
“I learned a lot of things during that fight. I have to be more careful,” the tight-lipped Mahmoud says, reflecting on the defeat. “I have more lessons, but I’ll keep that to myself.”
Now, over eight months removed from that contest, the featherweight will attempt to snap his two-fight losing streak and earn his first win inside the ONE Championship cage when he meets Bashir “Somchai” Ahmad in Yangon next Friday.
Bashir is just as hungry for a victory as his opponent. Similar to the Egyptian, he holds a 3-3 record and is also coming off two losses. “Somchai”, who owns and operates the Lahore-based Synergy Fitness & MMA Club, has been preparing for the upcoming match at Team Quest Thailand in Chiang Mai. Not only has the heavy hitter been focusing on sharpening his skills, but he has been concentrating on mixing everything together.
Mahmoud knows he has a stiff test ahead and isn’t looking past Bashir, but while the Egyptian Top Team product won’t pick a winner, he promises to deliver fireworks once the cage door closes.
“The best in this fight is the one that can use his weapons right. That man will win,” Mahmoud states. “You will see an exciting fight.”
