Congrats to RVA's Amir Sadollah

For some reason, neither local media nor blogs reported the news that Richmonder, Amir Sadollah, was a contestant on Season 7 of The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) on Spike. In each week's episode, Amir, flew under the radar by ducking the sensational amateurish antics of his fellow fighters/housemates, instead showing understated flashes of charm and wit. In the cage, Amir's Chesterfield kickboxing training from Team Combat was an asset that intimidated his opponents into wrestling him to the ground. Unfortunately for them, Sadollah's slick submission moves made the seemingly bigger and stroger fighters "tap out" one after another (except one, see below). Amir's improbable success propelled him into the finals and toward stardom in the world of mixed martial arts (MMA).

Well, our Richmond fighter won the whole thing. On Saturday, June 21st, televised live on the Spike network, Amir tapped out the favorite to win, C.B. Dolloway, with a textbook armbar from the bottom. The victory garners the middleweight (185 lbs) fighter and MCV surgical technician, Amir Sadollah, a six figure contract to fight for the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Now, he's on a collision course with UFC middlewieght champ, Anderson Silva, a man who is widely considered to be the best fighter in the world. The home team is gonna need all the help he can get during his next few bouts.

If you missed the chance to cheer on a local hero during the season of TUF (don't worry, the show is super annoying), you'll have plenty more chances to see Amir Sadollah in the future. Previous reality show winners have received top priority from the biggest MMA promotion in the world. And in the fastest growing sport in the world, that's a lot of exposure.

During tonight's prefight build-up, 27 year old Amir said that he still lives with his parents. It will be interesting to see if he's going to stay in Richmond, or relocate to a big league training hotbed like Las Vegas. However, in my only other MMA story on this blog, I reported that the first ever lightweight UFC champion, Jens Pulver had plans to take charge of the Amir's Chesterfield gym and rename it, Pulver Combat Sports. However these situations turn out, Richmond is starting to get mentioned in the fight game more and more, so expect to hear about MMA in the media around here, like it or not. At least with Amir involved, we've got a local hero who's amusing (and, I don't mind sayin it, kinda cute) leading the way.

• Here's one of Amir's old kickboxing fights where you can check out his killer head kick.
• This one is Amir coming from behind to beat a strong wrestler with a vicious knee.

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Update: Not sure why I tried to write this story like a reporter. The real story here is Amir's classy approach to the sport. Unlike the other TUF contestants who talked tough, Amir simply showed he had the fighting skills in the cage when it counted. He's not cheesy, doesn't act mean, and his face doesn't look like a cinder block. With his "wolfcut" hairdo (it's not a mullet), he's a pretty accurate amalgamation of all things hipster (think Ilan from Top Chef, but less pretentious). The dude is goofy and honest and if you saw him during the post-fight award ceremony, you'd be charmed by him for sure. During his moment in the limelight, Amir was at a loss for words, instead, making faces for the camera and little antics with his crystaline award. I've never met, Amir, but I've got a feeling that he's someone that even non fight-watching Richmonders would be proud of. Check him out.