The capricious hands of fate, ever moved by enmity of the mortal plans of men, have thrust the spotlight of the mixed martial arts world onto the unlikely shoulders of Ilir Latifi.
Alexander Gustafsson has sustained a cut deep enough to prevent him from participating in the main event of UFC on Fuel 9 against Gegard Mousasi. Latifi has heroically stepped forward, apparently the only available fighter with the credibility to salvage the card.
By the minute, we are learning more and more about the heretofore mostly unknown Latifi, For instance, we have been made aware of the following highlight video
We also know that a documentary was made about his life (click here).
Finally we have also discovered that he is a Greco-Roman wrestler of some repute. In 2001, Latifi won the Junior Nordic Championships in Greco at 96kg (FILA junior age division is 20-22 years of age). The following year he placed second at the same event at a lower weight, possibly driven to a lighter division by the arrival of Swedish wrestling superstar Jimmy Lidberg.
Keep checking with Bloody Elbow as more information about Ilir Latifi comes to light.