Long Way From Home: How Mohammad Siasarani Fought His Way From A Small Iranian Town To The Global Stage
Mohammad Siasarani has traveled a long way to put himself within touching distance of the biggest opportunity of his career.
The Iranian striker is preparing to face former ONE Interim Featherweight Kickboxing World Champion Masaaki Noiri in the ONE SAMURAI Featherweight Kickboxing Tournament semifinals at ONE SAMURAI 4 on October 17 in Tokyo, Japan.
Victory would move Siasarani into the tournament final, with the eventual winner earning a shot at reigning ONE Featherweight Kickboxing World Champion Superbon. But his path to that stage began far from the bright lights of Tokyo.
From a childhood split between the small mountain town of Kojur and Tehran, through illness, football, an early defeat he could not forget, and a move to Thailand at just 16, Siasarani has spent more than a decade building the career that now has him chasing a place among the world’s very best.
Football Gave Way To A New Obsession
The youngest of four children, Siasarani grew up primarily with his mother after his parents separated when he was 6 years old.
Sports quickly became a major part of his childhood, although fighting was not his first choice. Siasarani loved football, played constantly with friends, and represented several teams, including Iranian powerhouse Persepolis.
Then, at around 12 years old, he developed what he described as rheumatism. The illness affected his body badly enough that walking became difficult for roughly a year.
He said:
“At first, when I was young, the sport that I loved the most was football. Even when I was in school, I played football. Every moment, I would go and play with my friends.
“When I was about 12 years old, I got sick. I had rheumatism. It was a problem with my bones and my body, so I couldn’t even walk properly.”
Football never regained the same hold on him after his recovery. Instead, older brother Reza introduced Siasarani to Muay Thai, initially as nothing more than a hobby.
After a year or two of training, his coach entered him into a national-team selection tournament. Siasarani reached the final before suffering his first competitive loss.
The result stayed with him. He trained for the following year’s selection expecting another chance against the same opponent, but his rival moved to another weight class and eventually stopped competing.
He said:
“That was my first nightmare in Muay Thai. When I lost, every day I was dreaming about my opponent, the one who beat me. I was so upset.
“I didn’t know how to deal with it because I lost for the first time.”
Siasarani Left Iran For Thailand At 16 Years Old
That disappointment helped turn a casual interest into something much more serious.
By his early teens, Siasarani had become convinced that the best way to improve was to immerse himself in Muay Thai’s homeland. From around 13 or 14, he repeatedly spoke about going to Thailand.
His first opportunity came through amateur competition. Siasarani traveled there with an Iranian youth team, captured gold at the WMF World Championships, and made connections that offered him a possible route back.
He said:
“When I was doing Muay Thai in Iran, I fell in love with Muay Thai so much. I saw that Thailand was the best country for Muay Thai.
“For maybe one or two years, from when I was 13 or 14, I always said to my mom, ‘I want to go to Thailand, Thailand, Thailand.’”
Family Muay Thai gym agreed to provide the teenager with training, food, and somewhere to stay while helping him find fights. His uncle paid for the flight, and at just 16, Siasarani left Iran to pursue the sport seriously.
There was little money left for anything beyond the essentials. He learned to stretch breakfast across the rest of the day and remembers a McDonald’s ice cream because it was virtually the only thing he bought for himself on that first trip.
Siasarani later returned with help from his father and began earning money in the ring. After four or five fights, he had made around 6,000 Thai baht. It was a small beginning to a life that would increasingly revolve around Thailand.
He said:
“The first time I came, my uncle bought me a ticket. I didn’t spend any money in Thailand because the gym gave us food and a hotel.
“In the morning, breakfast was a buffet, so I would bring a bag and put food in my bag. That would last me the whole day. I remember the first time I came to Thailand, the only thing I bought for myself was a McDonald’s ice cream.”
A Training Video Opened A New Door
Years of competing in Thailand gradually brought Siasarani into more established fighting circles. During the COVID-19 pandemic, he paid to train at Venum Training Camp in Pattaya. While there, he recorded training footage.
Siasarani’s southpaw stance soon led to an unexpected opportunity. Superbon was preparing for his showdown with Giorgio Petrosyan, and the young Iranian was brought in as a training partner.
He said:
“The first time I came, I paid Venum to train here. Then one day, we made a video with my trainer, Ajarn Chris.
“Because I was a southpaw, they asked Ajarn Chris to send me to train with Superbon for his fight against Giorgio Petrosyan. At that time, they sent me to train with Superbon for one month.”
Siasarani spent about a month working with Superbon before eventually returning to Venum and fighting for the gym.
There, another relationship became central to his development. Former ONE athlete Mehdi Zatout began supporting Siasarani and became a mentor for the young fighter living thousands of kilometers from his family.
That stability helped carry him toward ONE Championship, where he debuted in January 2023. Victories over Avatar PK Saenchai, Mohammed Boutasaa, and Satanfah Sitsongpeenong followed before he scored a major decision win over Thai legend Sitthichai Sitsongpeenong.
Siasarani said:
“Mehdi is kind of the only older guy I have here who helps me with everything.
“If I have a financial problem, maybe he helps me. Even in life, he always tries to make me better. In training, in everything, he is really a very, very big part of my career.”
Siasarani Is Aiming To Become A Pound-For-Pound Great
Siasarani’s ascent was not uninterrupted. Losses to Shadow Singha Mawynn and Khunsuek Superbon Training Camp forced him to rebuild, but he answered with victories over Liu Mengyang, Kaito, and Oskar Siegert.
Then came his breakthrough.
At ONE Friday Fights 137 in December 2025, Siasarani knocked out former ONE World Title challenger “Smokin’” Jo Nattawut in the second round to secure a life-changing US$100,000 contract with ONE.
He carried that momentum onto the global roster, defeating Pedro Dantas before entering the eight-man ONE SAMURAI Featherweight Kickboxing Tournament.
Siasarani said:
“I think in this tournament, in every fight, I’m going to be the underdog. And as you see, not only in this tournament, almost every fight I did, I was the underdog, and I beat all of them.
“I think with this tournament, I can prove that I’m not one of the best. I am the best at featherweight.”
His quarterfinal bout at ONE SAMURAI 2 brought him back to Kaito, whom he had previously beaten by decision. This time, there was no need for the judges, as Siasarani flattened the Japanese star with a left high kick just 87 seconds into the opening round.
Noiri now stands between him and the tournament final. Beyond that lies the possibility of a World Title challenge against Superbon, the superstar Siasarani once helped prepare for Petrosyan years earlier.
It would complete one remarkable circle, but not Siasarani’s journey. Becoming a ONE World Champion sits below the ultimate standard he has set for himself.
He said:
“My biggest goal, not my biggest dream, my biggest goal is not just to be World Champion.
“It is to be pound-for-pound number one in kickboxing and Muay Thai.”
