Mirsad Bektic -- Rising Warrior

So I've accepted that I'll never get to see Mirsad Bektic fight under the stars in a park down the street (you suck Joe Kelly). But I realized that it's not his fault so I'm going to finish this post I started way back when.


Being born into a war-torn region of Bosnia seems to have set the stage for Mirsad Bektic's entire life. His family was split up early on and moved around a lot to avoid the turmoil. While he was still a boy, Bektic, his mother and two brothers managed to escape to Italy, leaving his father behind to fight in the army. From there they landed in a refugee camp in Germany, one which Bektic would later describe in an interesting way:

"It was kind of like being caged in...We couldn't really go too far outside where we lived."

Around this time, the family got word that Bektic's father had been killed in the war. Despite speaking very little English, Bektic's mother utilized available resources to organize a move to the United States. Like many other Bosnians, they ended up in Lincoln, Nebraska. But even then Bektic's life wouldn't go smoothly.  His mother was forced to work multiple jobs to make ends meet, leaving the three boys with little guidance. They soon found their way into a variety of trouble.

It was the gym that would save Bektic. Body-building and karate were his initial interests and by stroke of good fortune his karate instructor was also a counselor for troubled youth. From there Bektic was introduced to MMA and hasn't looked back. Though in one interview he took a moment to reflect:

"There was a lot of temptation to do some bad things...but I found something positive in my life, even though it wasn't the way I thought it would happen."

Tonight, Bektic will continue his life of fighting 5000 miles from where it began, but only a short stretch of interstate from the place he now calls home. He looks to remain undefeated in his MMA career as he takes on Doug Jenkins at RFA 5. (AXS tv)

source: http://mmajunkie.com/news/28863/fight-path-after-surviving-war-torn-country-mirsad-bektic-heads-to-titan-fighting-22


Interesting note: After settling in Nebraska, Bektic learned that his father was in fact still alive.

* Edited at 11.30.2012, 9:14 PM ET *