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Firas Zahabi

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Firas Zahabi
Zahabi in 2021
Born (1980-02-05) 5 February 1980 (age 44)[1]
Quebec, Canada[1]
TeamTristar Gym[2]
RankBlack belt in BJJ under John Danaher[1][2]
OccupationOwner and head trainer of Tristar Gym[3]
UniversityConcordia University[3]
Notable relativesAiemann Zahabi[4]
Notable studentsGeorges St-Pierre

Firas Zahabi (born 5 February 1980) is a Canadian martial artist who is the owner and head coach at Tristar Gym.[1][3] Zahabi is known for his work with mixed martial artist Georges St-Pierre.[5]

Early life

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Zahabi was born on 5 February 1980, in Quebec, Canada. His parents are Lebanese Immigrants.[1]

Growing up, Zahabi and his brothers were mainly interested in American football. It wasn't until 1998 when Zahabi turned 18, that he was exposed to martial arts.[1] Zahabi became interested in martial arts after watching UFC 2 where Royce Gracie defeated all his opponents using Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ).[1]

Zahabi attended Concordia University where he graduated with a degree in philosophy with a specialization in the Ancient Greeks.[3][5][6][2]

Martial arts career

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In 2000, Zahabi joined Tristar Gym where he trained in BJJ and Muay Thai.[1] After just six months, Zahabi earned a Blue Belt in BJJ and became a part time coach at the gym.[1][2]

A few years later, Zahabi met John Danaher and would frequently make trips to Renzo Gracie Academy in New York City to train with him.[1][2] In 2011, Zahabi received his Black Belt in BJJ from Danaher himself.[1][2]

Because Zahabi was studying at University, he was not able to compete extensively.[1][2] Nonetheless, he became a Canadian Amateur Muay Thai Champion and also won a few provincial-level grappling competitions.[5] He also fought in some amateur unregulated mixed martial arts bouts.[5] The organization where Zahabi became champion was called Full-Contact Jiu-Jitsu .[7]

Coaching career

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In 2007, Conrad Pla the owner of Tristar Gym became too busy to run the gym so he handed it over to Zahabi to run. In 2008, the gym was sold to Zahabi and he became the new owner.[1][3][2]

Zahabi has since then trained many different fighters under Tristar Gym.[3] His coaching style is focused on technique in a very controlled manner. Fighters will not go all-out during training sessions as he considers it not an effective way to train as recovery is considered important.[8][9]

Zahabi's most notable student is Georges St-Pierre.The two of them met when they were amateur fighters.[7] After becoming champion, Zahabi decided to become a coach to St-Pierre.[7] After UFC 69 where St-Pierre lost the UFC Welterweight title to Matt Serra, Zahabi became St-Pierre's main coach for the rest of his career.[1][5]

In April 2021, Zahabi was involved in an incident involving the Montreal Police. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the police would regularly visit Tristar Gym to verify it was conforming to public health regulations. After sixteen visits in the past year, on 9 April, Zahabi refused to allow the police to come in for the third time on that day. As a result, the police waited outside the gym for hours until the issue was eventually resolved between the two parties.[10]

MMA commentary and television

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Zahabi and UFC hall of famer Stephan Bonnar provided the commentary for all Titan FC events broadcast by CBS Sports in 2014.[11][12]

Zahabi was the MMA coach on The Ultimate Fighter: Team GSP vs. Team Koscheck, of the UFC‐produced reality television series The Ultimate Fighter.[13]

Personal life

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Family

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Zahabi is the older brother of UFC bantamweight fighter Aiemann Zahabi.[4]

Zahabi is married to Melissa Gendron who he met during university.[14] They have three children which include two sons and one daughter.[14]

Religion

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Zahabi is a Muslim and has talked on podcasts about Islamic philosophy and polemics.[15]

Controversy

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Zahabi has been criticised for the fact that he refuses to train with women in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu for religious reasons.[16]

Instructor lineage

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Kano Jigoro → Tomita Tsunejiro → Mitsuyo Maeda → Carlos Gracie, Sr. → Helio Gracie → Rolls Gracie → Carlos Gracie, Jr. → Renzo Gracie → John Danaher → Firas Zahabi

Notable fighters trained

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n "Firas Zahabi | BJJ Heroes".
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h Wray, David (29 April 2021). "Firas Zahabi - MMA Coach Biography". Retrieved 17 February 2022.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h "Stu Cowan: Montreal's Tristar Gym becomes MMA training mecca". montrealgazette.
  4. ^ a b "For Aiemann Zahabi, a family name brings big expectations in UFC debut". MMA Junkie. 18 February 2017. Retrieved 22 March 2023.
  5. ^ a b c d e f Gordon, Sean (15 March 2013). "Meet the philosopher king behind Georges St. Pierre's UFC success". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 17 February 2022.
  6. ^ "The mastermind behind the legend". www.concordia.ca. Retrieved 17 February 2022.
  7. ^ a b c d Morris, Jessy. "Exclusive Interview With GSP Trainer Firas Zahabi". Bleacher Report. Retrieved 17 February 2022.
  8. ^ "Georges St-Pierre's training secret: Firas Zahabi and the TriStar gym". FOX Sports. Retrieved 17 February 2022.
  9. ^ Bullmore, Harry (28 August 2018). "How Hard Should You Be Going At The Gym?". Men's Health. Retrieved 17 February 2022.
  10. ^ "Montreal gym owner tired of police visits during pandemic". montrealgazette. Retrieved 17 February 2022.
  11. ^ Helwani, Ariel (14 February 2014). "Stephan Bonnar to serve as color analyst for Titan Fighting Championship". MMAfighting.com. Retrieved 16 September 2014.
  12. ^ Whitman, Mike. "Titan Fighting Championship Debuts on CBS Sports Network on Feb. 28 with TFC 27". Sherdog.com. Retrieved 16 September 2014.
  13. ^ "The Ultimate Fighter 12 List Of Assistant Coaches For Kos And GSP". MMA News. 7 June 2010. Retrieved 18 February 2022.
  14. ^ a b "Firas Zahabi Bio, Family, Career, Wife, Net Worth, Measurements". Biographics World. 9 December 2020. Retrieved 17 February 2022.
  15. ^ "Mohammed Hijab - Firas Zahabi Talks Religion, Consciousness and Meaning of Life". Muslim Central. 2 November 2020. Retrieved 24 September 2022.
  16. ^ Burne, Kathrine (5 November 2022). "Firas Zahabi Comes Under Fire For His Comments On Women In BJJ". Jitsmagazine.com. Retrieved 22 March 2023.
  17. ^ DNA, MMA (10 May 2020). "Georges St-Pierre komt in de UFC Hall of Fame". MMA DNA. Retrieved 18 February 2022.
  18. ^ Carlson, Ollie (3 October 2019). "The team behind Robert Whittaker's rise to middleweight greatness". thebodylockmma.com. Retrieved 17 February 2022.
  19. ^ "Vitor Belfort joins Montreal's Tristar Gym ahead of final octagon bout at UFC 212". MMA Junkie. 8 May 2017. Retrieved 17 February 2022.
  20. ^ "Thanks to Firas Zahabi, UFC 126's Miguel Torres ditches "guts and glory" brawling". MMA Junkie. 4 February 2011. Retrieved 17 February 2022.
  21. ^ Snowden, Jonathan (10 June 2011). "Building A Better UFC Fighter: Firas Zahabi Guides Kenny Florian Towards Featherweight Gold". SBNation.com. Retrieved 17 February 2022.
  22. ^ "Davidson: Reinvigorated Kang ready for UFC debut". ESPN.com. 13 January 2009. Retrieved 17 February 2022.
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