SUIDOOSTER'S RHAFIEK READY TO ROL

SUIDOOSTER actor Irshaad Ally, best known for his role as Rhafiek in Suidooster, is ready to rol in Lansdowne this weekend. 

Ally is stepping back into the community, not on screen, but inside the cage.

This Saturday, the Undisputed MMA Championship (UMC) launches at Oaklands High School, a new fight night initiative that blends Cape Town talent, showmanship and youth upliftment.

UMC is a partnership between Ally and Fidaah Edries, owner of Fighterz Inc Gym. 

The pair’s journey into community development began years ago while volunteering at the Mustadafin Foundation, where they used drama and martial arts as interventions for vulnerable youth.

That work, Ally says, shaped his understanding of how discipline-based sports can transform young people, often written off by society.

He explained: “You get kids that need a lift. Kids that don’t have much. And the stories they carry… I wish I could share them, but those are personal things.

“They are incredible stories of overcoming, of still battling through issues and then using this sport to build themselves.”

Despite the perception of MMA as violent, Ally believes it instills structure and respect in a way few environments can.

“Yes, there’s punching in the face and aggression, but there’s a respect there. I walk into the gym and fighters I don’t even know will bow, they’ll say ‘coach’ or ‘Irshaad’. The respect is real,” he said.

“Discipline is important: cleaning the gym, packing away gloves, sweeping the floor. We are developing young people, teaching them how to be respectful and respectable.”

For Ally, this work is deeply personal. During his time mentoring youth in the early 2000s, he and Edries identified troubled teens at Mountview High in Hanover Park and used drama and martial arts to redirect their energy.

“We took the ‘worst kids’, mentored them, taught them drama and martial arts. Some loved the acting, but the others… the martial arts stuck,” he said.

“We got kids back into school, even into private schools. And Fidaah eventually opened his own gym. Those seeds we planted and this event is part of that journey.”

Ally will double as ring announcer and director of the event’s TV-style production, which will be filmed professionally for release on YouTube.

At its core, UMC remains an extension of what Ally and Edries started years ago: providing young people structure, discipline and community.

“We’re shining a spotlight on new talent,” Ally said. “This is sport, showmanship, and community upliftment all in one.”