Sore Street In Sydney's Kumuh Area, Former Australian UFC Fighter Shot Dead

Illustration of police on guard to secure. (Gene Gallin-Unsplash)

JAKARTA - Former UFC champion Suman Mokhtarian was shot dead on an afternoon walk in Sydney. The killings came months after Mokhtarian survived an assassination attempt.

New South Wales police said the 33-year-old was shot dead in a "directed" attack on Riverstone, a slum area northwest of Sydney, on Wednesday night.

Shortly after the shooting, two cars were found on fire at different locations, a characteristic of a recent organized crime attack that rocked the city.

"It's so fearless and embarrassing that this is happening in our community," NSW Police Chief Jason Joyce was quoted as saying by AFP.

"You may think that in residential areas people can roam the streets at night and feel safe, but we believe this is a targeted attack."

Local media reported that Mokhtarian survived the February 2025 assassination attempt, when a gunman opened fire on him outside a gym in western Sydney.

According to ESPN, Mokhtarian has a history of fighting twice at the UFC, in 2018 and 2019, losing on both occasions, before turning to coach.

He helped develop some of Australia's best mixed martial arts athletes.

A source named Ben, a local resident who was walking with his wife around the location heard gunshots at the time of the incident.

"At that time we also heard explosions and a lot of smoke billowing into the air ... that's definitely the car," Ben told The Sydney Morning Herald.

There was a big commotion, many people were surprised because they had never seen anything like this before. The shooting occurred when children were cycling around the park," he continued.