
A former Salford Red Devils academy prospect has won the biggest MMA fight of his life after debuting in a new competition.
Haider Khan, nicknamed ‘Darth’, defeated Saudia Arabia’s Mostafa Rashed Nada to take his professional Mixed Martial Arts record to nine wins and just one loss.
Khan, who used to be in the Salford Red Devils Academy, was making his debut in the Professional Fighters League (PFL) on what was the biggest fight night of his career so far.
Despite that, the nerves did not get to him as he earned the victory in Round One after landing a kick to his opponent’s forearm which seemingly broke the Saudi’s arm.
Salford Red Devils took to social media to congratulate their former player on his successful PFL debut, posting: “What a finish! Sending our congratulations to former Academy prospect, Haider Khan on his PFL debut win tonight!”
𝐖𝐇𝐀𝐓 𝐀 𝐅𝐈𝐍𝐈𝐒𝐇!💥
Sending our congratulations to former Academy prospect, Haider Khan on his @PFLMMA debut win tonight! 👏 #RoadToDubai pic.twitter.com/57qwYhd4Tj
— Salford Red Devils 👹 (@SalfordDevils) January 25, 2025
Khan had previously spoken to the BBC about his wish to inspire other British Pakistanis to lead the way in their respective fields.
Within that interview, he also revealed that he left rugby league and Salford Red Devils after the realisation that he “didn’t really love the sport any more”.
He said: “I don’t think I ever truly did have that love. I was just good.”
That saw him call time on more than a decade of playing rugby league with his interest in MMA sparking whilst at university, eventually leading him to where he is now.
Speaking to the BBC about his wish to inspire others, he said: “I want to inspire people to do things, but not just in the MMA community.
“There’s plenty of things we haven’t done as British Pakistanis. Why not be the first one to go do something in a different realm?
“You’ve got to set the standards and keep pushing. The doors will open if you keep working hard.”
You can see Khan’s devastating PFL debut in the clip below although it does contain graphic content given the injury sustained by his opponent.
Haider Khan BREAKS Nada’s arm with a kick to get a the W!#RoadToDubai | LIVE NOW
🇺🇸 MAX
🇬🇧🇮🇪 DAZN
🇷🇺 OKKO pic.twitter.com/2lfEm7ATrr— PFL (@PFLMMA) January 25, 2025
