UFC welterweight Bassil Hafez is very proud of his mixed Arab cultural heritage. The 32-year-old is setting up for his second UFC fight, against Mickey Gall on UFC 302 on June 1. His UFC debut: a tough, short-notice matchup against (currently) #5 ranked 170-pound promising prospect Jack Della Maddalena ended in a split-decision loss, which came as somewhat of a shock to many.

While officially a loss, his last performance has earned him respect from the UFC world. And the Arab-American’s upcoming fight, if it goes Hafez’s way could see him fight a ranked opponent pretty soon, despite Gall not being at the level of a Maddalena. Ahead of this consequential bout, we take a look at ‘Habibi’s nationality, ethnicity, and cultural background.

What is Bassil Hafez’s cultural background?

Bassil Hafez fights for his parents. While Bassil was born in America and holds an American nationality, he comes from a mixed Arab ethnic background. His mother was Syrian Arab, while his father was also Arab, hailing from Egypt.

The Pennsylvania resident would fondly remember the pizza place his parents owned when he was a child. In a devastating turn of events, however, both of them contracted cancer when he was a teenager. An 18-year-old Hafez, in probably the worst thing that could happen to a young man, helped bury his mother. Three years later, he would bury his father, who also passed away because of his cancer. The 32-year-old has said that he fights in order to honor their memory.

Fortunately, the Arab American had a close-knit extended family, just one of the things he loves about his culture, and has tried to preserve. His moniker, ‘Habibi’, too reflects his Arab heritage, as it is a universal Arab phrase that translates to ‘my dear’ or ‘my love.’

“Man I love my culture, I love my people. I grew up, you know, in an Arab household with Egyptian father and a Syrian mother. All my cousins and everything I grew up around them a lot too. And me and my brother are always trying to keep that family, keep that culture. I love my culture, I love my people, I love my food” he told the ‘FightWave’ YouTube channel in an interview last year. Deeply influenced by his cultural background, ‘Habibi’ hopes to represent Arabs at the highest levels of the sport. His next fight is a step in that direction.

Victory at UFC 302 crucial for Hafez to fight a ranked opponent

Bassil Hafez took Jack Della Maddalena to deep waters on debut, losing a razor-thin split decision to the rising welterweight star. Maddalena, of course, defeated the ever-dangerous gatekeeper to the top of the 170-pound division Gilbert Burns in his last octagon appearance at UFC 299 this March. And Hafez being able to compete with Maddalena blow-for-blow, has seen his stock rise in the promotion.

However, since his first fight at the UFC was officially a loss and is too little of a sample size to be able to make any inferences, the Dana White-led promotion has booked him against the unranked Mickey Gall, with a similar pro record as the ‘Habibi.’ If he shows even flashes of his previous brilliance and manages to get through his fellow American on the first of June, as most are expecting him to, good things (probably a fight against a top 15 welterweight) will most likely follow.