Amir Khan looking to utilize submission skills against Pakistani opponent

Amir Khan celebrates his win over Jian Kai Chee at ONE FC: Rise of the Kingdom

Carry momentum into the next fight

Half Indian MMA fighter Amir Khan is set to return to the cage next month and the 19 year old is looking to build on the momentum after stopping Jian Kai Chee in the opening round of his ONE FC debut. In that fight, which took place at ONE FC: ‘Rise of the Kingdom’ in Cambodia, he stopped the Malaysian Muay Thai specialist with a brutal barrage of first round punches.

Khan’s reward for that win is a bout in his hometown of Singapore and he is all set to take on Pakistan’s Waqar Umar at ONE FC: ‘Battle of Lions’ on November 7th.

Umar holds a 3-1 professional record and is moving down from the 155 lbs division and Khan says after showcasing his striking skills on his debut he wants to let his BJJ do the talking this time around,

“I train with many BJJ world champions because my team at Evolve MMA has the largest BJJ program in Singapore and Evolve MMA has the largest BJJ black belt instructor team in Asia. I would like to showcase my BJJ in this fight.”

Concentrate on the match

Khan made some headlines after his last fight when people noticed that he had a form of Tourettes Syndrome. It makes his journey from becoming a successful amateur to securing a spot on the roster of Asia’s biggest MMA organization all the more remarkable, but he says it’s simply something he’s become used to,

“It doesn’t really affect me when I fight because my team prepare me very well so I am always calm and confident,” he said.

Khan, who was born to an Indian father and a Malaysian mother, should get good support from the crowd at the Singapore Indoor Stadium when he takes on Umar but says he doesn’t care where his opponents come from,

“It doesn’t matter to me if I fight someone from Pakistan, it matters what their skillset is, not where they come from and he has three submission wins so I am sure he will be good on the ground.”

Will love to play in India

It will be a second fight in the space of three months for Khan who signed with ONE FC earlier this year after impressing in amateur action. He is enjoying the fast turnaround between fights and hopes to keep competing and winning frequently in the future,

“After my last fight I did not have any damage to myself or my body and I was back training at Evolve MMA the next week. I leave it up to my trainers and coaches to decide when I am ready for a fight because they are all world champions with decades of experience who I trust to manage my career.”

Khan has emerged as one of the best prospects on the ONE FC roster and after fighting in Singapore for the first time on November 7^th, he is hoping to get an opportunity to fight in India in 2015,

“I know that ONE FC is going to hold 24 events next year in cities all over Asia, so hopefully there will be an event in India and when it happens I would love to be on the card.”