Cage Warriors is the biggest mma promotion in the UK with some of Europe’s hottest talents. It helped the likes of Conor Mcgregor and Michael Bisping ascend to the highest ranks of the UFC. On December 31, 2022, it became the platform that gave the world its first ever Bangladesh-born champion, Shajidul Haque. The 32 year old fighter created history when he dethroned UK’s Sam Creasey at Cage Warriors 148. His mighty overhand did more than just clinch him the title, it has also put Bangladesh’s name into the world of MMA. Nicknamed “Superman” and riding a hot 6 fight streak, he aspires to be the first Bangladeshi UFC fighter and we got the exciting opportunity to uncover his story.
Shaj was born in Bangladesh but moved to England at a very early age. He always found himself gravitating towards martial arts. “As a child, I used to love watching Power Rangers. I was a huge fan of both Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan. I used to look up to Muhammad Ali and also loved to watch WWE (then known as WWF) before I realised it was not real fighting,” recalls Shaj. He started training Martial Arts at the age of 14 with his brother starting with Kickboxing and then slowly transitioning to MMA.
He made his pro debut in 2012 and has since gone to amass a record of 16 wins, 5 losses. Superman Shaj is currently the number 1 ranked Pro Flyweight fighter in the UK as well as Western Europe. He has some of the best footwork and head movement in the sports which he attributes to some of his fighting idols. “I took inspiration from Muhammad Ali, Prince Nassem Hamed, Dominick Cruz and Frankie Edgar. I have taken elements of their fighting styles to create his own unique style”, he explains. His most lethal weapon is his jab which he has spent years perfecting and has utilised to win fights both on the feet and the ground.
Mma is one of the most unpredictable sports in the world where styles make matches and anyone can beat anyone so you’re not guaranteed a win every fight especially at the top level. After having mixed fortunes with results, Shaj put on an impressive 4 fight win streak to earn himself a shot at the Cage Warriors Flyweight Championship.
Now being an MMA athlete at the very highest level automatically means that Shaj is among the toughest individuals in the world but even for him fighting for a world title is in a league of its own. Shaj gave us an insight on the elite mindset required to prepare for a title fight. He said, “There is always pressure and when an opportunity you have worked for all your life comes down to just 25 minutes, you definitely feel the pressure. I kept resonating with a quote from Muhammad Ali throughout my camp. ‘The fight is won or lost far away from the witnesses, behind the lines, in the gym and out there on the road, long before I dance under those lights’. I kept pushing myself out of my comfort zone”.
Shaj stayed disciplined throughout his entire camp. He slept on time. Ate on time. Stayed off social media and any other distractions. Meditated and stayed away from partying. He trained his heart and soul out and left everything else to the hands of Allah. Under the bright lights of the O2 arena, Shaj became the first fighter born in Bangladesh to fight for a MMA world championship. It was a highly competitive match but he wasn’t going to allow anything to stand between him and his dreams. After getting rocked in the third round, he responded with an absolute belter of a right hand to knock the champion out clean and dethrone him from the top of the mountain.
“Winning the Flyweight World Title was one of my big Career goals, and Alhamdulilah I was able to achieve this after many years of hard work. I always believed I was good enough and felt I deserved this opportunity many years ago and winning it just showed the rest of the world what I already believed”, he stated when asked to describe how it felt to become champion. Since winning, Shaj has garnered great support from both his local community and the Bangladeshi community. He has inspired a host of young Bangladeshis in both the UK and Bangladesh to follow his footsteps.
Shaj described the drastic shift in mindset that occurs once you transition from a contender to a champion. In his words, before you are a champion, all you have to do is focus on your training and then focus on resting. However, being a champion adds more nuances to your routine. “Simply training is no longer enough. I need to continuously reflect, analyse and plan ahead for my next sessions to make sure I am constantly improving. Being a champion is testament that you are on the right track so even though I need to work harder now, it gives me a great deal of assurance and confidence”, he explained.
On July 29, 7 months after winning a title, Shaj had his first successful title defense on Cage Warriors 158, an event that he headlined with Michele Martignoni in Italy Rome. Shaj produced a masterclass and handed the Italian fighter his second ever loss, that too at enemy territory. After his victory, he immediately called out for a shot at the UFC, the world’s biggest MMA promotion. When asked to shed light on the current situation, Shaj stated. “I believe I deserve a UFC opportunity, I feel I can compete with the Top 10. Unfortunately the fight game is very political and just winning doesn’t always get the opportunity. I hope with enough support from the Bangladeshi community the UFC will take notice”.
With his footwork and movement being better than most, Shaj would present an interesting challenge to the top 10 of the current roster and he also has few names in mind whom he wants to fight. “There are a few Flyweights Tagir Ulanbekov and Jake Hadley that have beaten me and got to the UFC but I feel I have made huge improvements since then so I would love to rematch them in the UFC. I would also like to fight David Dvorak. He was someone I was close to fighting outside the UFC but the fight didn’t go through,” he added.
He also likes his chances against the current UFC Flyweight Champion Alexandre Pantoja and is confident that his aggressive forward pressure style will struggle against his lateral movement. The ball is completely in the UFC’s court now, Shaj has more than just shown the world that he is ready for the biggest stage. As he waits for the UFC to call, Shaj is currently in training for his next fight while also training a string of young prospects looking to follow in his footsteps. He is the head coach of ACE MMA in South Shields UK and among his students are two exciting Bangladeshi prospects who will soon be making their professional MMA debuts.
“ACE MMA is home to two very promising Bangladeshi prospects who are currently top ranked amateur Champions but will be professionals in the near future: Shawon Choudhury and my nephew Sami Hoque”, he disclosed. Shawon has a record of 8-2 and fights in the Flyweight division while Sami is an undefeated featherweight with a perfect record of 7-0.
Despite moving to the UK at a young age, Shaj’s heart always beats for Bangladesh. His trademark is a superman shaped logo with his surname written in Bangla. He is also very active in his efforts of motivating young members of the Bangladeshi Community and educating the older generation regarding sports, particularly MMA so that more Bangladeshis can come out of their comfort zones and excel at it.
“I believe parents and carers need to learn how to support youths, and inspire them to take sensible risks in order to achieve great things. Regarding MMA, the community needs to understand that if trained properly it is a pretty safe sport and doesn’t involve as much risk as many people think it does. People only see the fighting but do not see how many more benefits the sport offers. There are health and fitness benefits, people learn to defend themselves, youths stay out of other trouble and avoid things like drinking and smoking because they will put all their focus on training,” stated Shaj.
He hopes that his success can inspire and show people anything is achievable and the only thing holding most of us back is our mindsets. Shaj has also been trying his best to remotely help aspiring fighters from Bangladesh by offering free advice to anyone who messages him on social media. He also started a YouTube channel named Shaj ‘Superman’ Haque where I teach techniques and training methods that can help those in Bangladesh improve themselves. While his current schedule and personal life is making it a bit tricky for him to visit Bangladesh, he does plan to come in the near future in a bid to help the local MMA scene grow.
