Muhamad “The Rising” Haidar

Status: Former ONE Athlete

Muhamad Haidar is from Selangor, and started learning martial arts when he was just 13 on the way to state championships in boxing and taekwondo. Despite the fact that his mother is a school teacher and his father works at a university, he was frequently in trouble in school, and had a penchant for getting into schoolyard scuffles.

Haidar credits martial arts for giving him motivation and discipline, and says this helped to toughen him up. He soon transitioned from fighting with his seven siblings and peers to competing in boxing and taekwondo. It proved to be a wise decision, as proved successful competing in both.

In 2013, he entered Season 1 of Malaysian Invasion MMA, and registered a win on his amateur cage debut. He went on to with several more times to earn himself a contract with ONE Championship.