For a BBC programme... from the religion department

Guz Khan is taking up mixed martial arts for a new BBC documentary.

The comic will train in a Birmingham gym under coach Ash Begg - a former 28-stone amateur-turned-elite MMA trainer for the programme and visit the US home of the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

Khan said: ‘All I ask of you is to watch this documentary and send positive energy and prayers to all of my bones that someone can very easily snap like a toothpick on a bad Thursday afternoon. Safe…’

Perhaps surprisingly, the programme – with the working title Guz Does... MMA –  has been commissioned from the broadcaster’s religion and ethics department.

Calling the hour-long documentary ‘funny, warm and unexpectedly moving’, the BBC says: ‘Guz Khan has just turned 40, a mid-life wake-up call for the Coventry-born comedian and actor, whose father died aged just 36 years old. 

‘This turning point in Guz’s life has prompted him to ask profound questions about his mortality, his Muslim faith, his own role as a dad – and his health. ‘

‘But this is more than a fitness journey. Guz has long been fascinated by the extraordinary number of elite Muslim fighters at the top of MMA and sets out to understand what faith and fighting have to do with each other, visiting UFC HQ in Vegas and meeting Muslim athletes to understand the role faith plays in training. 

Director Eddie Stafford said: ‘This will be Guz Khan as you've never seen him - honest, unguarded, and digging deep in the gym to get a handle on his health. 

‘Guz immerses himself in the world of MMA, a sport he’s been obsessed with since childhood, and this is all about faith, fatherhood, grief and finding out who you are at 40. And I think audiences are going to love Guz even more by the end of it.'

Published: 23 Sep 2026