Makwan Amirkhani hopes UFC 244 platform will bring attention to Kurds in northern Syria

NEW YORK – The bright lights and big stages haven’t made UFC featherweight Makwan Amirkhani forget where he came from.

He’s been focused on his UFC 244 bout against Shane Burgos (12-1 MMA, 5-1 UFC) on Saturday, but Amirkhani (15-3 MMA, 5-1 UFC) has had his people, the Kurds, on his mind.

“How can you forget, considering what’s going on at the moment in Northern Syria?” Amirkhani told MMA Junkie on Thursday. “I’m Kurdish, so that’s in my mind all the time. I will never forget where I come from. I’m proud of that, where I come from.”

At a media day held at New York Marriott Marquis, “Mr. Finland” mapped out his journey from birth in Iran to receiving said nickname. A refugee from Iran, Amirkhani moved to Iraq to Jordan to Paris to Finland. Now, he’s on the verge of competing at the “World’s Biggest Arena” – Madison Square Garden in New York.

Still, the conflicts in Northern Syria are eating at Amirkhani. A Kurd himself, Amirkhani wants to help his people as best he can – and he said he plans on doing so through his platform on the UFC stage.

“All the eyes are on me at the moment, so it’s not a bad thing that I bring that thing up,” he said. “It’s not something I haven’t thought about since this whole fight camp. It’s been something I’ve been thinking constantly, so I’m happy I can get this chance to go there and finish my opponent. Then, (I’ll) speak out.”

With a win Saturday, Amirkhani thinks he’ll extend his message further than ever. He won’t bring light to the issue because he wants to, but rather because he believes it’s his duty to do so.

“I feel responsibility to do that,” Amirkhani said. “I feel that that’s my task at the moment. Yes, I will do that. I will use that as a power to speak out. And I know the whole is a witness for this cruel attack, but it’s never a bad thing.

“… This is the only thing I can do for them. I know that my win will help them. It will encourage them, inspire people. So yes, this is bigger than me this fight. It has bigger meaning.”

UFC 244 takes place Saturday at Madison Square Garden in New York. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN2 and ESPN2/ESPN+/UFC Fight Pass.