Canadian bantamweight Aiemann Zahabi has finally cracked the UFC’s rankings.
“I’m in the history books now, baby. I won’t be denied now, so I’m really really happy,” Zahabi (12-2) told Cageside Press in a new, one-on-one interview. “I finally get the respect I think I’ve earned throughout the years. Respect for my skillset.”
Zahabi got the call (more accurately a text) from his manager at 1AM in the morning on Tuesday to learn that he’d cracked the top 15. He now sits in the #14 spot, something the UFC Canada Twitter account was sure to highlight, alongside fellow Canuck Jasmine Jasudavicius’ own #13 ranking at flyweight.
Canada moving up the ladder! 📈
Who would you like to see 🇨🇦 @JasJasudavicius and 🇨🇦⚜️ @AiemannZahabi to face next? #UFCEdmonton pic.twitter.com/OGqzyxwd9d
— UFC Canada (@UFC_CA) November 6, 2024
It took Zahabi, brother of TriStar Gym head coach Firas Zahabi, five straight victories to get here. At UFC Edmonton this past weekend, Zahabi put on a strong showing against Pedro Munhoz, who has settled into something of a gatekeeper role. Aiemann came away with a unanimous decision win.
The Montrealer revealed that he’d worked with a mindset coach ahead of the Edmonton fight, and the biggest name of his career.
“I’ve got a coach for everything else, I might as well try that too. It really helped it made all the difference to just get the last little bit of confidence to be a shooter in there,” admitted Zahabi. “Me and Munhoz both started slow, because when you’re a big hitter and you’re fighting another big hitter, you don’t want to be the guy who gets caught. Because you can get caught, anybody can get caught. I caught him quite a few times, and he never went out. He’s got a really good chin, that’s great for him. I relied a lot on my defense and my defense was there for me all night long.”
With a number beside his name, Aiemann Zahabi is now looking up. Five straight wins is a solid head of steam in the bantamweight division, which has names like champ Merab Dvalishvili, Umar Nurmagomedov, Sean O’Malley, and others at the top of the rankings.
“I can’t wait to see who they plan to give me next and when. Hopefully it’s going to be like the first quarter of next year, like Springtime or whatever,” said Zahabi on that front. “Hopefully it’s going to be a big name, and hopefully if it’s back in Canada, that would be great.”
Watch our full interview with UFC Edmonton’s Aiemann Zahabi above.
