Record: 9-2
Age: 29
Weight class: Featherweight
Height: 5’8″
Birthplace: Canada
Next Fight: May 24 vs. Tariel Abbasov (8-1) at Tuff-N-Uff 137 in Las Vegas (UFC Fight Pass)
Background: Jamie Siraj needed an outlet for his energy during a home life self-described as “rough.” That’s when he came across Revolution Martial Arts and former UFC fighter Kajan Johnson, who served as one of the head coaches. Siraj had his first fight at age 15 and was immediately hooked. MMA gave him a direction, a path. It changed everything. It was the one place he could go to and be truly happy. After a 7-2 amateur career, Siraj turned pro in 2014. He encountered mixed results with a 3-2 start. After some tweaks in his approach and mentality, Siraj found consistency. He hasn’t lost since. In 2019, Siraj was on the doorstep of a UFC call, aligned for a shot on Dana White’s Contender Series. That’s when life decided to take a different turn. Siraj began to feel ill and doctors did not know why. After a long, grueling period of his body failing, Siraj was diagnosed with hyper IGE Syndrome, an immunodeficiency disorder. It rendered him largely unable to function, septic, and near death. Through treatment, Siraj is now back to a largely normal life. In June, for the first time in four years, Siraj fought and won for Battlefield Fight League. He was then offered a spot on “The Ultimate Fighter 32,” but was one of the last fighters cut from the season’s roster – a move that surprised him, considering he flew all the way out to Las Vegas.
The Skinny: Siraj has been through hell and back. Spend five minutes listening to what he went through and you’ll have a new appreciation for Siraj – and for life, in general. Siraj was a UFC-level talent in 2019 before his break. He was likely one fight away from being the next Canadian to sign with the promotion. However, due to the massive curveball, he’s had to rebuild. There was a long period of time when he was unable to train, so just trying to reconstruct his body is something that takes time itself. But June’s fight was a good step. After a frustrating year full of delays outside of his control, Siraj sounds more motivated and eager than ever to snag a win. Should he get one at Tuff-N-Uff, a promotion that Sean Shelby attended in March, Siraj seems like a layup for DWCS, at minimum.
In his own words: “I threw everything together last minute to make (‘TUF’). Then, I talked to producers and everything like that. They basically told me personally, ‘Yeah, we can’t really say much, but basically, you’re on the show. Multiple conversations I had with the guy, just… f*ck, man. I just really got d*cked around on that one, to be honest. … After that, I was kind of in a position to see what would happen with Contender Series. I was about to take my foot off the gas for a bit and this fight came about. It got put together very quickly at the right time. … I feel like this is a step toward bigger and better things, not to mention the eyes that are on Tuff-N-Uff. This and LFA are probably the best platforms you can be fighting on. At the end of the day, I’m just really excited to almost show who I am on the international stage.”
“… Vegas is Dana’s town and I know quite a few times Sean has been at this event. That was brought up to me by my manager Jason House, as well. Any opportunity I can get to fight in front of Dana White or Sean Shelby, just give me whoever. I’ll make the most of my opportunity. That’s where we got to with this fight. … I think it ties really nicely into the matchmaking for Contender Series. At the end of the day, that’s really what I want. I want a busy schedule this year. I’ve had a lot of layoff in my career and it’s no longer something I want to deal with.”
‘… One hundred percent (I’ve improved since last fight). Last fight was a four-year layoff. I wasn’t comfortable in there. Even in that fight, I was so much better than what I showed. The more the fight was going on, the more I was like, ‘OK, take a chill pill. Relax.’ I never had a fight where I put so much emphasis into everything that wasn’t surrounding the fight.’ There was the comeback story and everything what happened, I was living more in the fairy tale scene than focusing on the fight. Now, I feel like that chapter is behind me and I’m just ready to show how vicious and dangerous I really am.”
