Mohammad “O Lutador” Karaki: From Dreaming of Stardust to Battling for the ONE Middleweight Crown
Back when he was a kid, Karaki pictured himself floating past the planet in a sleek space suit. Fast forward to today, and the Lebanese fighter’s ambition has taken a very different orbit—he’s ready to fling himself into the ring and unseat ONE Championship’s biggest star.
Early life – “Fighting from the ashes”
Born in Morocco just a year after Lebanon’s 15‑year civil war ended, Karaki’s family drifted back to Beirut in the early 2000s. The country was still riddled with conflict; in 2006, Israel declared war on Lebanon, forcing the family to flee again. “I grew up on hard ground,” he says, “and that cracked the hard shell around me.”
Karate starts the story
At 14, he took karate classes. It didn’t do him much for fighting; it was just a stepping stone to a new arena. He was skeptical at first, but the moments he stepped into the ring fought against partners and then in a real MMA match, left him wanting more.
First MMA lesson
- December 2012 – stepped in to replace a training partner.
- Defeated Ammar Majed via first‑round TKO in Jordan’s Desert Force.
- That victory ignited a passion; he vowed to train harder.
“I win because I hate losing. Success feels like a breath I take in everything I do.” That mantra fuels his fire.
Climbing the ladder
- Record: 9‑0, eight finishes.
- Desert Force Middleweight & Light‑Heavyweight titles.
- Phoenix Middleweight champion after an armbar finisher.
That Phoenix win came against a Moroccan fighter named Salah Eddine Dekhissi. It wasn’t a walk‑in the park; Karaki had a chest injury and kept it quiet until after the bout. “Pros must overcome hardships,” he said, “and who can say I was spotting anyone right about that, you know?”
ONE Championship calling
With his belt ready and a perfect record, Karaki earns a chance to fight the ONE Middleweight World Champion, Aung La N Sang. The fight will happen in Yangon, Myanmar— “Burmese Python’s backyard” as the locals call it. He’s no stranger to fighting on foreign soil; his title win in Desert Force was already a tough, victorious moment.
“I’ve always wanted to go to the highest level,” he says. “Step by step, I’m getting there.”
