Wallid Farid Ismail (Arabic: وليد فريد إسماعيل, born February 23, 1968) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist and promoter. Ismail holds a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ) under Carlson Gracie, and is an IVC mixed martial arts world champion and BJJ Champion. Ismail is considered one of the first professional fighters in BJJ because of his specially dedicated training, as he had many sponsors and did not have to teach or have another job, unlike most of the other competitors in the country at the time. In mixed martial arts, Ismail is also considered a pioneer, having his first official fight in the Vale Tudo event Desafio - Jiu Jitsu vs. Luta Livre in 1991, also having competed for the UFC, and PRIDE, most of his wins in MMA came by way of submission. After his career, he became heavily involved in the business side of MMA. He is the founder and promoter of Jungle Fight, Brazil's largest MMA promotion, and also manager of multiple fighters.
Profile from Wikipedia and Wikidata (CC BY-SA) · Photo: Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA). Source: Wikipedia ↗