Mostapha al-Turk

Mostapha al-Turk (Arabic: مصطفى الترك‎, born 14 July 1973) is a retired Lebanese-English mixed martial artist. A professional from 2002 until 2010, he competed for the UFC and Cage Rage. He is the former Cage Rage British heavyweight champion.

al-Turk came from a middle-class family in Beirut, Lebanon and had become interested in the UFC and mixed martial arts after watching a few events. His father was a doctor and al-Turk himself worked in the pharmaceutical industry, before deciding to make mixed martial arts his career. al-Turk has a very accomplished grappling career as well, with his Brazilian jiu-jitsu background. al-Turk was the ADCC European Champion in 2005 and made it to the final of the ADCC Submission Wrestling World Championship, losing to future UFC fighter Gabriel Gonzaga by only three points, further motivating al-Turk to transition to mixed martial arts.

Early career

Before going professional, al-Turk had 2 amateur fights, going 0-2 with both of the fights ending in injuries. He also competed in amateur boxing matches and submission wrestling matches as a way to prepare himself for MMA.

However, al-Turk had a just as bad start to his professional MMA career, losing his first two fights by TKO. He attributes his amazing beginning to not being mentally ready and not having the support of his family to compete in the sport.

Cage Rage

Al-Turk fought in the up-and-coming British organization, Cage Rage, around a year after losing his second professional bout. The young al-Turk would start with outstanding form, winning three straight fights in the organization, all by TKO due to punches, including a win over former sumo and PRIDE veteran, Sentoryu Henri.

Al-Turk then faced former two-time UFC Heavyweight Tournament Champion and longtime PRIDE veteran Mark Kerr. al-Turk again won by punches after the former collegiate wrestling star tapped out due to punches. Al-Turk then fought against former British Cage Rage Heavyweight Champion Tengiz Tedoradze. al-Turk won the fight by knockout Georgian.

Al-Turk continued to perform with a win over K-1 kickboxer Gary Turner, who tapped due to punches landed by the Lebanese fighter. al-Turk then fought for the British Cage Rage Heavyweight Championship against future Ultimate Fighter contestant, James McSweeney. al-Turk won the fight by TKO due to punches and became the last British Cage Rage Heavyweight Champion, before the organization saw its demise. al-Turk was then offered a four-fight contract in the UFC, which he accepted.

UFC

At UFC 92, on 27 December 2008, Turk lost at his UFC debut to French kickboxer Cheick Kongo by TKO. Kongo dropped Turk with two right hands, using the ground and pound technique, he knocked out Al-Turk Referee Steve Mazzagatti stopped the fight after 4:37 of the first round, in what some viewed as a late stoppage, as Al-Turk was bleeding heavily and had not been defending himself for a significant amount of time.

Al-Turk next lost to Mirko Cro Cop at UFC 99 by TKO after Cro Cop hammered him with strikes. There was some controversy surrounding the end of this fight as Al-Turk claimed Cro Cop had poked him in the eye right before he succumbed to the head kick. Neither the referee Dan Mirgliotta or Cro Cop noticed any eye pokes. Al-Turk stated that he would petition the loss, but the petition was declined.

Al-Turk was expected to face UFC newcomer Rolles Gracie on 6 February 2010 at UFC 109, but pulled out due to visa issues.

al-Turk instead faced The Ultimate Fighter 10 alumni, Jon Madsen, at UFC 112. Turk lost the bout via unanimous decision and was subsequently released by the UFC.

• Cage Rage
  • Cage Rage British Heavyweight Championship (One Time, Last)