Farid Basharat and his brother, Javid Basharat, had fought on the same day before, but this time was different.
“This one was, like, a little bit surreal,” Farid Basharat told The Underground. “I care about Javid a lot. I want to think about him when I’m fighting, when I’m preparing for my fight, but you can’t think too much because it’ll throw you off of your game, you know what I mean? So you kind of have to enter your fight thinking only about your fight, and you just kind of have to have faith in his preparation that he’s going to do what he’s going to do.”
Undefeated bantamweights Farid (8-0) and Javid Basharat (12-0 MMA, 1-0 UFC) were each competing on March 12, though unlike previous such occasions, they were thousands of miles apart. Javid was making his UFC debut in Las Vegas. Meanwhile, Farid was in Spain, competing at War of Titans 2.
Due to a scheduling quirk, despite the nine-hour time difference between the two locations, the brothers ended up competing at nearly the exact same moment. Farid said he didn’t get a chance to speak to his brother on fight day but that they each messaged each other for support.
“It just didn’t work out, time-wise, so I voice messaged him,” Farid said. “I said, ‘Look, man, I don’t think we’re going to be able to talk, so I’ll just leave you a voice message. Do your thing. Do what we always do. Do what we were born to do,’ you know? And he basically said the same kind of thing, and we do what we do, you know? We fight.”
Farid was able to secure a second-round finish via rear-naked choke in his bout, and he immediately left the cage to go check in on his brother.
“As soon as I finished my guy, I ran backstage and I got UFC Fight Pass out, and I just went to the corner backstage somewhere and watched it with my team,” Farid said. “I was super nervous because when you’re there, say, if I was in his corner, I can call out some commands. I can tell him, maybe ‘hands up’ or something, but when you’re on the other side of the world and there’s nothing you can do, it makes you nervous, for sure.”
Javid was able to grind out a decision win over a very dangerous Trevin Jones, and Farid watched it all unfold from more than 5,000 miles away.
“It was his UFC debut, and if I’m honest, I was very, very proud,” Farid said. “I was very proud. Like, man, we’ve visualized, we’ve spoken about this for over a decade, and I was very happy. I was very proud.
“Once the fight started and I saw Trevin Jones was throwing some heat, you know, and I think Trevin landed the first shot and I was like, ‘Oh man, keep your hands up! Come on!’ And I was screaming on top of my lungs, obviously. But yeah, I was very, very, very proud, to be honest.”
UFC commentator Paul Felder informed Javid of his brother’s result during his post-fight interview, and hearing his name on the broadcast was significant for Farid. He hopes to join his brother on the UFC roster in the very near future, and he believes Javid’s win does nothing but help him with that goal.
“If I’m honest, Javid winning means more for me than me winning,” Farid said. “That’s the truth. Like, Javid’s win on the Contender Series is the most important fight in my career, my life. Him winning that fight means more to me than any of my eight pro wins because for one, he’s my brother, and secondly, it means a lot for the both of us.
“His UFC debut opened the door. Now, like, you heard it on the on the broadcast. Paul Felder and those guys were talking about me, so it has an effect on me, too, not only like, emotionally, I’m proud of him, but also it opens a lot of doors for myself.”
Born in Afghanistan and now calling London home, Farid is currently in Las Vegas, training at the UFC Performance Institute and preparing himself for his chance to make an octagon debut. Whether it be through Dana White’s Contender Series, like his brother, or perhaps a short-notice matchup directly into the UFC, Farid believes he’s ready.
If it’s on the same night as his brother once again, Farid said he welcomes the opportunity, but he’s not forcing that narrative. Instead, Farid is just hoping his next fight takes place in the UFC’s octagon.
“I think the UFC this summer is going to happen,” Farid said. “Inshallah, it happens. It has to, you know? I’ve been waiting for a long time. I’ve been working very hard, but this summer I think you’ll see both the Basharat brothers in the UFC.”
To see the full interview with Basharat, check out the video above.
