He is called “Bad”, has never lost a professional fight and, at just 20 years old, is already taking Leeds onto one of the biggest martial arts stages in the world.
But away from the violence and intensity of the Muay Thai ring, Ubaid “Bad” Hussain is more likely to be found with an engineering textbook open, surrounded by a family of seven at home in Harehills, or helping raise money for people thousands of miles away.
And now the British-Pakistani fighter from Leeds has landed the opportunity that could change everything. Hussain stands at a perfect 17-0 as a professional and 8-0 in ONE Championship, having secured a coveted US$100,000 ONE Championship contract after defeating Isannuea Sor Sasiwat at Bangkok’s famous Lumpinee Stadium on 28 August.
“When I realised I had got the contract, at first I was lost for words,” Ubaid told Asian Express, recalling the moment he celebrated with his long-time coach Jompop Kiatphontip and his team.
“I didn’t know what to say. I just went to run and hug Jompop and my team.
“I got emotional and was struggling to talk because I have always dreamed and prayed for this moment. I was super grateful for it.”
Securing the contract was a huge milestone, but Ubaid’s ambitions stretch much further.
First comes a place among eight elite fighters in ONE Championship’s Flyweight Muay Thai World Grand Prix. It is now confirmed that Hussain will face Thai Muay Thai star Black Panther in the quarter-finals at Lumpinee Stadium on 20 November.
“I have just been given the opportunity to fight on the ONE Championship World Grand Prix in Thailand with seven of the best Muay Thai fighters in the world,” he said.
“So now my focus, in between studying, is preparing for that fight and making sure I win and get through to the next round.
“Inshallah, what is written for me will be.”
FROM HAREHILLS TO THE WORLD STAGE
Ubaid was born and raised in Harehills and comes from a British-Pakistani family with roots in Chakswari, Azad Kashmir. His Muslim faith, he says, is central to his life. So is his family.
One of five children – he has two brothers and two sisters and still lives in Leeds while studying chemical engineering at the University of Huddersfield, where he is entering his third year.
The fighting began almost by accident. At eight years old, football was his passion.
His father took him to a local Muay Thai gym primarily to help him lose weight, learn some self-defence and keep him out of trouble. A few sessions changed everything.
“I fell in love with the sport,” he said. “I kept asking my dad when I would be going again. I really enjoyed training there.
“At the start my dad only took me there just to lose weight and help with my self-defence. It was fun, it got me off the streets and stopped me messing around with other kids.
“After a few months, one of the trainers saw something in me and started offering me and my dad fights. Within a year I was already having fights.”
By the time Ubaid turned professional at just 16, he estimates he had accumulated around 60 to 70 junior and amateur contests, represented Team GB and won at World and European level.
There were weekends with repeated fights, sometimes more than one bout in a single day. Then it was straight back to the gym.
“Those early years of fighting literally every week, or having more than one fight in a day, taught me discipline and resilience,” he said.
“After my fights I would take no breaks and show up to the gym the day after. It was the same cycle over and over again, to the point where it came naturally to me.
“I had a few losses in the early days which are key to my success because I learnt a lot from those losses. They made me fix my mistakes and train harder.”
And then there is that nickname. “Bad” sounds like carefully manufactured fight-night branding. The truth is much better.
Coach Jompop Kiatphontip had only recently arrived in Britain and was checking people into a class with a pen and notebook when the young fighter gave him his name.
“He asked for my name and I go, ‘Ubaid’, and he was only new to the country so he didn’t know much English,” Hussain recalled. “I kept saying ‘Ubaid’ to him and he kept saying back ‘Bad’.
“At some point I just agreed and said, ‘Yes, my name is Bad.’”
It stuck.
“The name suits me because back then I was quite an aggressive child. I still am now in my fighting style, but I’m bigger and stronger now and I use that aggression in a smarter way instead of going crazy like I was back in the days.”
THE ZERO
Seventeen professional fights. Seventeen victories. Ubaid admits protecting that zero brings its own burden.
“Yes, protecting my ‘zero’ on my unbeaten professional record does add pressure, but I don’t let it get to me when I’m fighting.
“It’s always in the back of my mind because my trainer Jompop wants me to always try my best and train hard no matter if I win or lose. He just wants me to push myself to my limits and beyond that.”
Yet perhaps the most remarkable part of Ubaid’s story is what happens when the gloves come off – he returns to chemical engineering.
Hussain studied maths, physics and chemistry at A-level and is determined to complete his degree, partly for himself and partly for his parents.
“Education is very important to me,” he said.
“Especially with having Asian parents, they made me understand that from a young age. Having a good degree and a ‘backup plan’ is important and I also want to fulfil my parents’ dream of me getting a degree.
“I enjoy studying, especially problem solving. It helps with my fight IQ in the ring and helps me figure out my opponent’s game plan.”
There have been times when the two worlds have collided spectacularly.
“This year I took quite a big risk by having a fight a week before my exam and it was a main event fight which I couldn’t risk missing.
“I also had a fight a few weeks after my exams, so I had to train and study leading up to it, which was hard. When I am flying out to fight I always take my laptop and books with me so I study there in between my training sessions.”
The result?
“I nearly got a first, which I was happy about.”
FIGHTING FOR MORE
For Ubaid “Bad” Hussain, success is also about what a kid growing up in Harehills might see when he walks into the ring.
“It’s an honour to represent my background and area on the largest stage,” he said. “I want to inspire other kids in the same situation, or even better or worse situations than me, to show that it’s possible.
“If they can see me doing it, maybe they will think they can do it too. You just have to put the hard work in and leave the rest to God.”
That sense of responsibility extends far beyond sport. Following the example set by his father, Ubaid says he has helped raise more than £60,000 for charity, including a recent £2,600 appeal for an orphanage in Thailand.
“I always help out my community and people struggling around the world. My dad helped me get into this – he used to do loads of charity work and I’m just following in his footsteps.
“This responsibility comes from being a Muslim because one of the pillars of Islam is charity, so it’s mandatory to give back to poor and needy people. I do believe if you do good for others, good things will happen to you.“
“When I saw the kids in Thailand who had nothing, I wanted to do something for the country which has given me the opportunity to fight on the world stage.”
Now the ambitions are getting bigger. Hussain wants a master’s degree in chemical engineering – and he wants ONE Championship gold.
“I want to get a chance to fight for the world title belt in the next one to two years,” he said. “Inshallah, one day I will get it and I will then defend it and move on to better and bigger things.
“I try to take one step at a time and overcome each obstacle which is put in front of me to achieve my dreams.”
The next obstacle now has a name: Black Panther.
On 20 November, Ubaid will return to the Lumpinee Stadium ring for the quarter-finals of ONE’s eight-man Flyweight Muay Thai World Grand Prix, carrying that immaculate 17-0 record with him.
From an eight-year-old sent to a Leeds gym to lose weight and stay out of trouble, to an unbeaten professional carrying a six-figure ONE contract and preparing to face some of the world’s best.
The nickname may have started with a misunderstanding, but seventeen fights later, nobody is misunderstanding Ubaid “Bad” Hussain now.
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