Bodybuilder brawl between Marven Yacoub and Hossein ‘Yakiboy’ Balapour blamed on money troubles

Personal messages reveal a dispute over money may lie at the heart of a wild street brawl between two of Australia’s best-known body builders. 

Hossein ‘Yakiboy’ Balapour appeared to viscously attack personal trainer Marven Yacoub while the two were standing amid a group of men alongside a busy road in the inner Sydney suburb of Zetland last week.

After Balapour rained down blows and kicks, he pulled out what appeared a long thin weapon to strike Yacoub and pursued him through traffic to land several blows until the other men were able to intervene.

Yacoub later released a WhatsApp exchange between him and Balapour where he futilely seeks money money he says is owed to him.

‘Hey bro you need to transfer $2110 this week,’ Yacoub writes on December 20. 

The man with a ‘Lamborghini body’ replies: ‘Hey brother yes but I do half because I have to pay $1200 to my lawyer.’

He goes on to say he will send as soon as he has the money.

Following his brawl with fellow body builder Hossein ‘Yakiboy’ Balapour, Marven Yacoub has released message indicating a money dispute between the two

Balapour (pictured) appeared to chase fellow bodybuilder Yacoub with a weapon during their wild street brawl

It’s been a dramatic falling out between Balapour and Yacoub (pictured together in 2019) who previously seemed to have a close friendship

Ok brother no problem,’ Yacoub replies.

‘Thank you brother,’ Balapour adds. 

But on December 21 Yacoub send another volley of messages.

‘How did it go today?’ 

‘What happened bro?’

Yacoub responds: ‘I will call you after the gym.’ 

Later Yacoub superimposed some commentary over the exchange.

‘Messages speak for themselves,’ he writes.

‘Don’t believe what you see on socials. Money is the root of all evil.’

The Iranian refugee has more than 350,000 fans and regularly brags about his ‘Lamborghini body 

Hossein ‘Yakiboy’ Balapour (right in the grey top) got into an altercation with Marven Yacoub (centre in the black t-shirt) on a busy road in an inner Sydney suburb

Yacoub followed up the screengrab with two messages. 

‘I don’t need to show any more messages,’ he writes.

‘Moral of the story is. People quickly forget what you do for them. But don’t believe the hype of what people show they have on socials.’ 

The second message insists ‘It’s not in my nature to do something like this.’

‘But when you get betrayed by someone who you helped at they’re lowest because you considered them a brother when no one else had a hand out for,’ he writes

‘Then you get sh*t on. There’s no betrayal worse than when you do good from your heart and get spat on.’

Yacoub followed up the screengrabs of his WhatsApp exchange with some bitter reciminations

It has been a dramatic falling out for the pair who previously posed for photos together and described themselves as ‘brothers’. 

Balapour is currently out of custody on bail over an unrelated assault charge that he has pled not guilty to.

The heavily tattooed Iranian refugee has more than 350,000 fans and regularly brags about his ‘Lamborghini body’ and describes himself as the ‘Muslim Soldier’.

Yacoub, from south-west Sydney, narrowly avoided going to jail over supplying steroids in 2021. 

He was accused of running a secret steroid ring while publicly promoting legal health supplements on Instagram.

Yacoub was sentenced to two years and nine months after pleading guilty to four counts of supplying a prohibited drug but was allowed to serve the sentence as an intensive corrections order in the community. 

Meanwhile, Yacoub, from south-west Sydney, narrowly avoided going to jail over supplying steroids in 2021