Former UFC fighter shot dead while out for evening walk

It's believed to have been a targeted attack.

The ex-MMA fight was shot in a 'brazen' and 'targeted' daylight attack while taking an early evening walk, reports the Sydney Morning Herald.

Mokhtarian was shot in the upper body and was unable to be revived by paramedics.

Police told the SMH that the UFC fighter has links to large scale drug and gun supplies.

He last fought in the UFC back in 2019 but in April this year, he was the alleged target of a gangland hit at a mixed martial arts event in Sydney.

The event was cancelled due to fears for his life.

Superintendent Jason Joyce of Riverstone Police Area Command said: “It’s very brazen, and it’s a shame that this is happening in our community. You’d want to think that in a residential area that people could wander the streets at that time of night and be safe, but we do believe it’s a targeted attack.

“My heart goes out to the family of this victim, and certainly any of the people that witnessed it, [it] would have been a horrific thing to witness, and it’s certainly not something we tolerate in the community.”

Mokhtarian was 33.