Mostapha al-Turk (, born 14 July 1973) is a retired Lebanese mixed martial artist. A professional from 2002 until 2010, he competed for the UFC and Cage Rage. He is the former Cage Rage British heavyweight champion. Background Born in Beirut, Lebanon. Al-Turk and his family moved back and forth between London and Beirut when he was still a toddler. al-Turk had become interested in mixed martial arts after watching a few UFC and PRIDE FC events. He briefly worked in the pharmaceutical industry, before deciding to make mixed martial arts his career. al-Turk had a very accomplished grappling career as well, with his Brazilian jiu-jitsu background. al-Turk was the ADCC European Champion in 2005 and made it to the final of the ADCC Submission Wrestling World Championship, losing to future UFC fighter Gabriel Gonzaga by only three points, further motivating al-Turk to transition to mixed martial arts. Mixed martial arts career Early career Before going professional, al-Turk had 2 amateur fights. Cage Rage Al-Turk fought in the British organization, Cage Rage, around a year after losing his second professional bout. Al-Turk faced former two-time UFC Heavyweight Tournament Champion and longtime PRIDE veteran Mark Kerr. al-Turk again won by punches after the former collegiate wrestling star tapped out due to punches. Al-Turk then fought against former British Cage Rage Heavyweight Champion Tengiz Tedoradze. Al-Turk lost the fight by knockout. Al-Turk continued to perform with a win over K-1 kickboxer Gary Turner, who tapped due to punches landed by the Lebanese fighter. al-Turk then fought for the British Cage Rage Heavyweight Championship against future Ultimate Fighter contestant, James McSweeney. al-Turk won the fight by TKO due to punches and became the last British Cage Rage Heavyweight Champion, before the organization saw its demise. al-Turk was then offered a four-fight contract in the UFC, which he accepted. UFC At UFC 92, on 27 December 2008, Turk lost at his UFC debut to French kickboxer Cheick Kongo by TKO. Kongo dropped Turk with two right hands, using the ground and pound technique, he knocked out Al-Turk Al-Turk next lost to Mirko Cro Cop at UFC 99 by TKO after Cro Cop hammered him with strikes. There was some controversy surrounding the end of this fight as Al-Turk claimed Cro Cop had poked him in the eye right before he succumbed to the head kick. Neither the referee Dan Mirgliotta or Cro Cop noticed