Talented Shoaib Yousaf is gearing up to take part in Europe’s largest MMA (Mixed martial arts) show in Manchester.
 
Nicknamed 'the Assassin' Yousaf, 28, from Nelson is set to compete in 'Oktagon', in front of 18,000 fans at the AO Arena on Saturday 4 November.
 
Backed by his supporters, also known as ‘The Assassin's Army’ Yousaf is hoping to do his town and county proud. Yousaf is based at Predators Gym in Manchester and wants to become the first ever British-Pakistani MMA athlete to compete at the highest level. 

He said: “Although there are several British-Pakistani boxers in the UK, there are not many MMA fighters.

"I want to show young British-Pakistani’s what can be done, and become the first ever British-Pakistani to compete at the highest level of MMA. 
 
 “Competing in Oktagon’s first show in the UK and walking out at the AO Arena on fight night in front of a home crowd is a dream come true for me.

"I can’t wait to hear the noise of my supporters in Manchester. I know I will have a lot of support from Nelson and it is going to be unreal, and loud!” 

He began his pro MMA journey in 2016, specialising in the bantamweight and featherweight divisions with strong grappling and submission skills.  He went on to sign with Cage Warriors, a prominent European MMA promotion, as well as competing in several UK regional promotions, before switching to Oktagon MMA from middle-eastern promotion, UAE Warriors.
 
Oktagon MMA will feature a battle between reality TV star Jake Quickenden and stand-up comedian Paul Smith. They have both dedicated their lives to MMA for the last ten months as part of the ‘Stage to Cage’ TV series on Channel 4, before facing each other at the inaugural Oktagon MMA event. 
 
The event is also the finale of the Oktagon Challenge, a reality show streamed on Channel 4 where four MMA athletes from England are taking on four MMA athletes from Ireland.  The eight rising stars fight their way through the series as well as tackling ‘challenges’. 
 
Tickets for Oktagon 48 at the AO Arena in Manchester on Saturday 4 November are available here.