The only fighting Bassil Hafez’s mother, Baraa got to see her son do was in the streets. This is unfortunate since she passed away when the UFC welterweight was just eighteen after a lengthy and painful battle with cancer, which even broke his father. However, the UFC star has kept his mother’s memory alive in more ways than one. After all, the Arab-American would recall how his mother would do her punishing chemotherapy sessions in the morning, only to put in a full twelve-hour shift at the pizza place his parents owned.

His father, too, passed away due to cancer just three years after his mother’s death, landing another devastating blow to the 170lbs prospect. And this, of course, would change him irreversibly after a pretty wild youth. Bassil would internalize his parents’ remarkable work ethic and dedication to hard work, which has propelled him to the biggest combat sports promotion in the world. His nickname, too, is a tribute to his family.

His moniker, ‘Habibi’, of course, is an Arabic word that means ‘beloved’ and is used as a term of endearment all over the Arab world.

“Man I love my culture, I love my people. I grew up, you know, in an Arab household with an 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,”

Bassil would recall fondly. And this love for his culture and parents is clear in his nickname, and the foundation he established named after his mother.

Bassil Hafez determined to help cancer patients through his foundation

Despite his mother having passed away before watching her son become a professional fighter whom she would be proud of, Bassil is determined to keep her memory and her legacy alive in another way. To this end, ‘Habibi’ founded the ‘Baraa Hafez Breast Cancer Foundation’, whose aim is “to help families going through financial hardships due to breast cancer.”

Bassil started this foundation during his days at the regional Pennsylvania MMA circuit, where he raised money by selling T-shirts. The money wasn’t much, but it did help many families struggling with breast cancer. However, soon after, ‘Habibi’ himself would fall into financial hardship, even struggling to pay rent and buy food at one point.

This unfortunately led to the foundation being virtually defunct for about five years. Until he caught a break and was called on to fight Jack Della Maddalena in the UFC last year. Even though he lost the fight, the first thing he did was to resurrect the foundation, holding a fundraiser, which raised $5,000. Although not an astronomical sum, every bit counts.

And now, he is determined to take it to the next level. That is why ‘Habibi’ is determined to succeed in the UFC- not for his personal glory, but to help families that struggle with cancer. As his next challenge approaches in the form of a bout against Oban Elliot at UFC 309, Hafez will certainly look to continue his winning ways. What do you think about Bassel Hafez’s tribute to his parents?