Iran has an incredibly deep rooted wrestling culture, having won 43 of their 69 Olympic medals in that one sport, but very few Iranians have flourished in mixed martial arts.
Two names that come to mind are Beneil Dariush, an Assyrian born in Iran, and Gegard Mousasi, an Armenian born in Iran. Dariush opened up about the lack of MMA development in his home country in an exclusive interview with Bloody Elbow.
“I think MMA is still kind of new in Iran. Not a lot of people are even familiar with MMA. The wrestling there, the taekwondo, these are the top sports.