Salam Mohammed is set to make Kurdish sporting history this October when he competes at the UFC BJJ Opens in Indianapolis, becoming the first Kurdish fighter known to compete in a UFC BJJ tournament in the United States.
Kurdish Weekly recently connected with Mohammed as he prepares for the competition. His appearance will bring Kurdish representation to a new UFC-backed stage at a time when Kurdish athletes are gaining more attention across combat sports.
The Indianapolis event will take place on October 24 and 25 at Best Choice Fieldhouse in Fishers, Indiana. It is part of the new UFC BJJ Opens series, which launched in 2026.
For Salam Mohammed, the tournament is more than another date on the competition calendar. It is a chance to enter a growing global platform while representing a people whose athletes are becoming harder to overlook.
Mohammed’s appearance follows a personal milestone earlier this year. In May 2026, he announced his promotion to blue belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu while training at Nashville MMA Training Camp, thanking his coaches and teammates for helping him develop on and off the mats.
Salam Mohammed Enters a New UFC BJJ Platform
The UFC BJJ Opens are different from a traditional UFC mixed martial arts event.
There is no striking. Athletes compete in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, with a focus on takedowns, control, positional attacks and submissions.
UFC launched the Opens series in May as an entry point for grapplers of different ages and skill levels. The organization says the events are meant to give athletes a route toward higher levels of UFC BJJ competition.
Strong results do not guarantee a UFC BJJ contract. However, advanced competitors can use the tournaments to gain experience and put themselves in front of people within the UFC BJJ system.
That gives Mohammed’s appearance added weight.
He is not simply entering a local grappling competition carrying UFC branding. He will be competing within a new system that UFC hopes can identify future professional BJJ talent.
Indianapolis Brings Together Gi and No-Gi Competition
The Indianapolis UFC BJJ Opens will include youth and adult divisions.
No-gi competition will take place on Saturday, October 24. Gi competition follows on Sunday, October 25.
Adult competitors will compete in single-elimination brackets. The event includes white, blue, purple, brown and black belt levels in gi competition, while no-gi athletes are separated into beginner, intermediate and expert levels.
The series also places a strong focus on active grappling.
When UFC announced the Opens, it said its scoring system was designed to encourage offense and a faster pace. The format reflects UFC BJJ’s wider goal of making high-level grappling easier for fans to follow while still keeping the technical side of the sport.
For Salam Mohammed, that means competing under a format connected to one of the most recognized brands in combat sports.
Salam Mohammed Joins a Growing Kurdish Combat Sports Presence
Salam Mohammed’s upcoming appearance also fits into a larger story.
Kurdish fighters have been reaching major international combat sports platforms for years.
Alan Omer made his UFC debut in 2014 and spoke at the time about the significance of becoming the first Kurdish fighter to enter the promotion. His UFC career helped establish an early Kurdish presence at the highest level of MMA.
Makwan Amirkhani later became one of the more recognizable Kurdish-born fighters in the UFC. UFC itself has described Amirkhani as being born in Kurdistan. He competed in the promotion from 2015 through 2023 and built much of his success around wrestling and submissions.
More recently, Kurdish MMA fighter Namo Fazil reached Dana White’s Contender Series in Las Vegas in August 2026 after building a 10-1 professional record. Although Fazil lost to Kaik Brito, reaching the Contender Series placed another Kurdish fighter directly in the UFC talent pipeline.
Now Salam Mohammed is helping expand that representation into competitive Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.
The pattern goes beyond one athlete or one event. Kurdish competitors are appearing more often in MMA, grappling and other international sports. They are carrying Kurdish identity into arenas where that representation was once rare.
That does not mean every appearance will end with a medal or contract. It does mean Kurdish athletes are building a stronger presence in elite sport.
A Different Kind of Kurdish First
What makes Salam Mohammed’s October appearance important is the category of the achievement.
Kurdish fighters have competed in the UFC before. Salam Mohammed is not being presented as the first Kurd associated with UFC competition.
His milestone is more specific.
Based on information shared with Kurdish Weekly and available public records, Salam Mohammed is set to become the first Kurdish fighter known to compete in a UFC BJJ Opens tournament in the United States.
That distinction matters as UFC expands beyond MMA and invests more heavily in professional grappling.
The UFC BJJ Opens tour began with Las Vegas in August and includes stops in Phoenix, Fort Lauderdale, Indianapolis and Denver during its 2026 schedule.
Indianapolis will now have a Kurdish name in its brackets.
For Mohammed, October offers the chance to compete, test himself and represent Kurdistan on another international stage.
For Kurdish sports, it is another small but meaningful sign of how far that representation is spreading.
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