The Rookies: UFC 294

Mohammad Yahya was chosen to blaze a trail.

The 29-year-old lightweight will become the first Emirati to compete in the Ultimate Fighting Championship when he faces Trevor Peek as part of the UFC 294 undercard this Saturday at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Yahya enters his promotional debut with the requisite momentum, having rattled off five consecutive victories.

“I’m very proud,” he told The National. “Obviously this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity [and] everything I worked for since I was a little kid. The reason I started fighting in my career is watching the UFC on TV and wanting to train and become a UFC fighter. That was the main goal, and now my dream came into reality; and I’m ready.”

Yahya captured the UAE Warriors lightweight championship when he put away Yazid Chouchane with punches in the second round of their September 2021 encounter. Two successful title defenses followed, as he turned away Mohamed El Jaghdal and Souhil Tahiri in back-to-back appearances. Now, Yahya carries the weight of a people on his shoulders.

“This is crazy for the Emiratis,” he said. “There is already a lot of young talent messaging me saying they are so proud of me. It’s really inspiring for me just to know that. When I was one of these kids, up and coming, there was no one [from the UAE] in UFC, so it was really hard for me to be like, ‘Oh, one day I’m going to be in the UFC.’

“Now they’re telling me they see they have the one of their own people [and] not just only Emiratis but for the whole [Persian] Gulf, the whole Arab region,” Yahya added. “I’m going to be the first fighter from the whole Gulf to be in the UFC. I’m representing it all.”

Peek, 28, has established himself as a fan favorite in short order due to his throw-caution-to-the-wind tendencies. The Alabama native owns a 1-1 record inside the Octagon, a first-round knockout of Erick Gonzalez at UFC Fight Night 220 offset by a unanimous decision defeat to Jose Mariscal at UFC on ABC 5. Peek punched his ticket to the UFC on Dana White’s Contender Series in 2022.

“I’m not saying it’s going to be easy—it’s a tough opponent—but I’m used to going five five-minute rounds, so three five-minute rounds is not difficult,” Yahya said. “And it’s in my hometown, my arena. I’ve fought there four times already with UAE Warriors, defended my belt there three times. It’s going to feel like home.”

Yahya will have some company in terms of a martial artist drawing his first assignment in the UFC, as the unbeaten Sharabutdin Magomedov makes his company debut opposite former M-1 Global champion Bruno Silva in a three-round middleweight prelim. Magomedov carries a perfect 11-0 record that includes 10 wins via knockout or technical knockout, seven of them inside one round. He needed just eight seconds to bury Kushal Vyas with a knee strike and follow-up punches in his final pre-UFC bout on Dec. 11. Magomedov has laid claim to titles in the Thailand Fighting Championship and Arena Global organizations.

Silva, meanwhile, has run hot and cold since he joined the roster in 2021. He started his run with consecutive finishes of Wellington Turman, Andrew Sanchez and Jordan Wright, only to lose his way with a 1-3 mark across his past four outings. Silva, 34, last fought at UFC on ABC 5, where he submitted to a rear-naked choke from former Legacy Fighting Alliance champion Brendan Allen in the first round of their June 24 clash. In 32 professional appearances, he has never been knocked out.