5 Things You Might Not Know About Mohsen Mohammadseifi

Mohsen Mohammadseifi finds himself within arm’s reach of a six-figure payday in the Middle East and North Africa branch of the Professional Fighters League .

The 35-year-old late bloomer will do battle with Marseille Fight Club export Souhil Tahiri in one of two PFL MENA 3 lightweight semifinals this Friday at the PFL MENA Studio in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The winner advances to face either Georges Eid or Omar Reguigui in the $100,000 final at 155 pounds later this year. Mohammadseifi steps back into the spotlight with the wind of a five-fight winning streak in his sails. He last competed at PFL MENA 2, where he put away Josh Togo with punches in the first round of their July 12 confrontation.

As Mohammadseifi moves ever closer to his semifinal showdown with Tairi, here are five things you might not know about him:

1. He was raised in a harsh environment.

Mohammadseifi was born on Sept. 8, 1989 in Zanjan, Iran—the 20th-largest city in the country, with a population of more than 400,000. It has long been known for its climatological extremes, as temperatures there have reached as high as 109.4°F and as low as -22°F. Mohammadseifi happens to share a birthday with rapper and PFL spokesperson Wiz Khalifa.

2. His track record speaks for itself.

The Iranian has hit paydirt on five different occasions at the World Wushu Championships. Mohammadseifi was a gold medalist in sanda in 2011, 2013, 2015, 2017 and 2019, tying him with Muslim Salikhov , Bozigit Ataev and Shahrbanoo Mansourian for the all-time lead.

3. Adversity does not shake him.

Mohammadseifi made his professional mixed martial arts debut at the age of 29, losing to current Ultimate Fighting Championship lightweight Zhu Rong via first-round technical knockout under the Wu Lin Feng banner on June 14, 2019.

4. He exhibits adventurous tendencies.

The sanda stylist has already fought in three different countries. Mohammadseifi has gone 4-0 in Bahrain, 1-0 in Saudi Arabia and 0-1 in China.

5. Efficient work has marked his rise.

Five of Mohammadseifi’s six career bouts—all five of his victories and his only defeat—have concluded inside one round. He has one sub-minute finish to his credit, as he needed just 43 seconds to bury Bichi Zakaria with punches at a Brave Combat Federation show in March 2021.