Ahmad Wali Hotak has some ‘good news’ to share. The Afghan welterweight has not been seen in action since The Taliban overthrew the government in Afghanistan last year.
They banned MMA and the promoter of TGFC, where Hotak had been fighting regularly, fled the country. Hotak is still in Afghanistan and has been training regularly but there doesn’t seem much prospect of anyone putting on a fight card there.
However it sounds like he is planning to return to competitive action soon. The 32 year old posted an update on Twitter:
https://twitter.com/AhmadWaliHotak1/status/1533510611837104128?s=20&t=njet54to80qce2D22YoGiA
Comeback trail
It sounds like Hotak could be on the comeback trail. His message to his Twitter followers translates as:
“Good news coming to my dear countrymen soon. I am not sitting still, I am tired and we will get a result for the glory of Afghanistan, God willing. Just a few more days We have set a goal for all this exercises and sweat. For the glory of our homeland and our countrymen.”
He sounds very much like a man with a fight in the works. Compatriot Abdul Azim Badakhshi has been fighting regularly in India where he has emerged as something of a star with Matrix Fight Night.
He is currently in Phuket training alongside fellow Afghan Baz Mohammad Mubariz. The latter has signed with Middle Eastern MMA promotion Brave.
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International options
Hotak has fought five times in India and Pakistan, winning every single fight. He has also travelled to Russia in order to compete on four separate occasions and might have competed there more frequently if he hadn’t been injured during an attempted kidnapping in Kabul.
So Hotak, who boasts a record of 10-1, should not be short of offers from international promotions is he is able to travel beyond Afghanistan’s borders. He probably won’t be fighting in Kabul any time soon as the Taliban has banned MMA.
There was some controversy surrounding his most recent wins. He claimed a debatable split decision win over Orkhan Veliev at TGFC 13 in Kabul and his victory over Leonardo Barreto at TGFC 11 made headlines globally.
Barreto waited until he was safely back in his native Brazil to admit he had taken a dive. He said he was intimidated by the number of people carrying guns, which is probably part and parcel of daily life in Kabul.
It is unlikely that Hotak’s next fight will be in his hometown. But it sounds like the 32 year old should be back in action before too long.
