UFC star Suman Mokhtarian revealed he was battling to keep his life on track when he appeared on popular mixed martial arts TV show The Ultimate Fighter.
Mokhtarian, 33, was shot dead at around 6pm on Wednesday night in Sydney’s north-west at Riverstone.
Police believe it was a targeted attack. The featherweight fighter and coach had previously survived other attempts on his life.
Last year, a man allegedly posing as a food delivery driver opened fire at Mokhtarian outside the Australian Top Team gym in Wentworthville, where he coached other fighters.
NSW Police subsequently cancelled the inaugural mixed martial arts event – the Dark Matter Fighting Championship – after receiving intelligence Mokhtarian was the target of an alleged assassination plot.
On Wednesday he was not so lucky, with Mokhtarian allegedly killed while out walking.
Slain UFC star Suman Mokhtarian previously revealed he was battling problems in his personal life when appearing on popular mixed martial arts show The Ultimate Fighter
Mokhtarian, 33, was shot dead on Wednesday night in Sydney’s north-west at Riverstone (pictured, fighting Seungwoo Choi of South Korea in 2019)
Mokhtarian appeared on the hit TV show The Ultimate Fighter in 2018 and spoke candidly about struggles he faced away from the Octagon.
The program – which is immensely popular with fight fans and has been running since 2004 – sees MMA hopefuls compete for a shot at the big time in the UFC, with Mokhtarian featuring on a team coached by legendary heavyweight Stipe Miocic.
‘I got into the sport through my brother [Ashkan],’ Mokhtarian said.
‘I had a lot of friends who trained at mixed martial arts gyms in Sydney and my brother had a few problems, he was having a rough time and he wanted to prove me wrong by saying he could become a fighter.
‘I doubted him, and look where we are now… he was motivated to prove me wrong, and he did.
‘His motivation into the sport kind of motivated me to get into it.
‘I’d seen him fix himself up and rebuild himself, rebuild his character, and become a good father, a good man, a good older brother.
‘I helped him, and then when I was falling down on that wrong track, he slapped me into place and got me into it [MMA fighting].’
Police believe it was a targeted attack, with the featherweight division fighter turned coach surviving previous attempts on his life
A manhunt is underway to find the gunman. Anyone with information is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 (pictured, police at the scene)
Reflecting on his youth, Mokhtarian said when he was 18 he wanted to ‘go out and party and get girls’ and wanted to fight, but ‘not to train’.
A turning point came when his brother fought in his first promotion and won in the first round, leading the siblings to open an MMA gym together.
Mokhtarian won his first professional fight in June 2012, launching an eight-bout undefeated streak that brought him to The Ultimate Fighter.
Seemingly on a path to UFC stardom, he worked with Miocic but suffered a defeat and a knee injury that ruled him out of the rest of the competition.
He realised his dream by making it to the UFC, but lost by technical knockout in his first bout in December 2018, then was defeated by decision in his second and final fight in December 2019.
Together with his brother Ashkan, Mokhtarian mentored some of Australia’s leading MMA prospects out of their gym in Sydney’s west.
In another video filmed before his stint on The Ultimate Fighter, he said, ‘I want to be a role model, I want to lead the way for other people.’
News of his death has prompted an outpouring of grief in the MMA community.
‘Firstly, I want to say Suman believed in me more than I believed in myself,’ student Jesse Swain said.
‘I owe all I’ve done in MMA to him. Anyone that knew him personally knows how passionate and invigorating he was… and he expected nothing but the best.
‘He pushed me to heights I never thought I’d get to when starting out.’
Another student Ali Hassan said Mokhtarian ‘got him out of the gutter’, and he will always treasure their moments together.
A manhunt is underway to find the gunman, with witnesses stating he fled in a red Audi.
Roughly 15 minutes after Mokhtarian was found, emergency services were called to nearby Riverstone Road where a car had been set ablaze.
Fire crews attended the scene, but the vehicle was destroyed.
Anyone with information is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
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