[{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/destinations\/singapore\/on-the-pitch-one-championship-lightweight-mma-fighter-amir-khan\/#NewsArticle","mainEntityOfPage":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/destinations\/singapore\/on-the-pitch-one-championship-lightweight-mma-fighter-amir-khan\/","headline":"On The Pitch: ONE Championship Lightweight MMA Fighter Amir Khan","name":"On The Pitch: ONE Championship Lightweight MMA Fighter Amir Khan","description":"Fill Me In In this edition of On The Pitch, TheHomeGround Asia had the opportunity to have a Zoom interview with professional Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) fighter Amir Khan, about his thoughts before his fight with fellow lightweight contender Park Dae Sung, as well as about the future of MMA in Singapore. ONE Championship Amir, […]","datePublished":"2020-12-23","dateModified":"2021-01-21","author":{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/author\/Claudia%20Tan\/#Person","name":"Claudia Tan","url":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/author\/Claudia%20Tan\/","identifier":73,"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/6f2004e13e937d58b50adb5fc43b2f9a318d48ec017194d5e4f2b87e462a5219?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/6f2004e13e937d58b50adb5fc43b2f9a318d48ec017194d5e4f2b87e462a5219?s=96&d=mm&r=g","height":96,"width":96}},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"TheHomeGround Asia","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/wp-content\/uploads\/photo_2021-07-22-222533.jpeg","url":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/wp-content\/uploads\/photo_2021-07-22-222533.jpeg","width":640,"height":640}},"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/wp-content\/uploads\/1608819144482_Amir_Khan_1280X626.jpg","url":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/wp-content\/uploads\/1608819144482_Amir_Khan_1280X626.jpg","height":626,"width":1280},"url":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/destinations\/singapore\/on-the-pitch-one-championship-lightweight-mma-fighter-amir-khan\/","commentCount":"3","comment":[{"@type":"Comment","@id":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/destinations\/singapore\/on-the-pitch-one-championship-lightweight-mma-fighter-amir-khan\/#Comment1","dateCreated":"2026-05-02 09:17:48","description":"Perfectly balanced between detail and simplicity.","author":{"@type":"Person","name":"world live tv channels","url":"https:\/\/www.rmnt.ru\/go.php?URL=https:\/\/www.oneotv.com\/"}},{"@type":"Comment","@id":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/destinations\/singapore\/on-the-pitch-one-championship-lightweight-mma-fighter-amir-khan\/#Comment2","dateCreated":"2026-04-26 14:58:48","description":"Thanks for making it so relatable.","author":{"@type":"Person","name":"Salomon hiking water shoes","url":"https:\/\/globalshoepalace.com\/product-category\/women\/Salomon-Women-Shoes"}},{"@type":"Comment","@id":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/destinations\/singapore\/on-the-pitch-one-championship-lightweight-mma-fighter-amir-khan\/#Comment3","dateCreated":"2026-04-24 09:14:14","description":"Absolutely loved reading this!","author":{"@type":"Person","name":"Salomon brown shoes","url":"https:\/\/globalshoepalace.com\/product-category\/women\/Salomon-Women-Shoes"}}],"about":["Featured","People","Singapore"],"wordCount":1202,"articleBody":"Fill Me InIn this edition of On The Pitch, TheHomeGround Asia had the opportunity to have a Zoom interview with professional Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) fighter Amir Khan, about his thoughts before his fight with fellow lightweight contender Park Dae Sung, as well as about the future of MMA in Singapore.ONE ChampionshipAmir, 26, was originally due to go up against Park during the ONE: Collision Course event on 18 December. However, due to changes in the fight card because of the pandemic, Amir will now meet Park in the octagon in the second installment of ONE: Collision Course, scheduled to air on 25 December.\u00a0Like most fighters, Amir has been training specifically to fight his opponent. \u201cWe\u2019ve created a good game plan that we think will most likely work on him and we ramped up the intensity, volume initially, but towards the fight we\u2019ve tapered down.\u201d\u00a0Despite the delay, however, Amir remains unfazed, as he says that he\u2019s been preparing well for the fight. \u201cWe\u2019ve been training towards the fight, so nothing much has changed, really. It\u2019s all psychological now, so I\u2019ll just show up on that day.\u201d\u00a0More than just physical trainingBesides physical training, Amir also reveals that there is a psychological aspect in his preparation. \u201cI do visualisations, and I do breathing exercises to try and calm myself down; I visualise myself in the cage, and all the emotions that I\u2019m feeling, so I just replay that in my mind. I think it just compounded over the two months, so on that day my mind is ready for it.\u201d\u00a0He is the third Singaporean professional fighter on the Evolve fight team, alongside the likes of Angela Lee and Linus Lau. Originally a Muay Thai fighter, he also holds a Blue Belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, and is currently one of the top contenders for the lightweight ONE championship belt.\u00a0When asked about his strategy for winning the belt, Amir says that he intends to take it one fight at a time. \u201cThe plan is to try and take things one step at a time, so I have to finish this fight [against Park], and dominate the next guy, and the next one; slowly but surely I\u2019ll reach there by next year.\u201d\u00a0Void deck fighter turned MMA fighterHis confidence about attaining his goal isn\u2019t unfounded. Amir has been training since the tender age of 13. Amir\u2019s foray into the world of Muay Thai resulted from brawls that he would have after school with his classmates, who made fun of him because of his Tourettes\u2019 Syndrome \u2013 a neurological condition that causes a person to twitch involuntarily. Now that he\u2019s managed to achieve substantial success for himself as a fighter, Amir hopes to be able to inspire the young with his craft, starting with his year-old son. \u201c[So far] he seems pretty keen when I show him how to kick and punch\u2026 he [also] likes to jump on me and bite me, I guess you can say he\u2019s got some animal instincts! We\u2019ll see how it goes from there.\u201d\u00a0In his capacity as an Assistant Coach at Evolve, he\u2019s also been doling out useful advice to aspiring young fighters. \u201c[When] kids come up to me and ask for advice, I\u2019ll share my experiences and knowledge with them, stuff that I\u2019ve acquired from my past experience, and try to help them in any way possible. Mostly it\u2019s to help steer them in the right direction, and to help [clarify] their thoughts.\u201d\u00a0He also bases his advice from past coaches, as well as his background in sports science. \u201cI\u2019ve been through good and bad training, so I know what\u2019s good for an individual. I\u2019m also studying sports science, [so] I have the knowledge to back it up as well. So with all that added knowledge, I try not to give advice that is too challenging. I like to be as specific as possible, without telling them what to do.\u201d\u00a0Even though he respects each individual\u2019s choice, he maintains that there are certain qualities that a fighter should embody. \u201c[Apart from things like] discipline [and] hard work, I also feel like relentlessness and perseverance [are important]. When you fall, you need to get back up and keep on believing in yourself. Not only when times are good but especially when times are bad, you have to have that self belief.\u201d\u00a0What future does MMA have in Singapore?As a fighter cum assistant coach, Amir sees huge potential in the MMA scene here in Singapore. \u201cI think it\u2019s gonna be big. The sport is definitely catching up, and a lot of people are into it. I see a lot of young fighters training and they want to be professional fighters. It takes time, because now they\u2019re young, so it will take time for them to build an amateur status and get opportunities. I think in 10 years there will be many more Singaporean fighters, and it will be [considered] normal.\u201d\u00a0Knowing that MMA has had a reputation for being a violent and gory sport, Amir is also keenly aware of some of the misconceptions that people have about MMA. \u201cI feel like fighting should be just like any sport, like golf or basketball. It should be a legitimate sport. People choose to fight because it\u2019s their passion, not because they\u2019re gangsters. I think I\u2019m a nice person, I\u2019m quiet and all, but you wouldn\u2019t think that of a fighter.\u201d\u201cAmir\u2019s done it, so can I\u201d\u00a0To round up the interview, we asked Amir what he would like to be remembered for, as one of the pioneer professional MMA fighters in Singapore, and as an assistant coach.\u201c[Up till now], there\u2019s never been a ONE Champion produced locally in Singapore, so I would like to achieve that, so that people can look up to me and say, if he can do it, so can I. Because right now maybe there\u2019s not much belief in it because no one has done it, and it’s almost like an impossible task, so I would like to do it, and I feel a lot of people will follow after that.\u201d\u00a0To aspiring fighters, he says that success is possible if one has passion. \u201cI believe with passion, there\u2019s always a way if you want to succeed in anything, no matter how old. Obviously for sports, [if] you start at 30, you will have a disadvantage. But still it\u2019s never too late to experience it. I would say try [MMA] if you\u2019re curious; after a few competitions, you\u2019ll know if it\u2019s for you. You don\u2019t want to be old and [have regrets]. Just commit to it and don\u2019t look back.\u201d\u00a0MMAsucka.comWant to see Amir in action? Watch him go head to head with Park Dae Sung live on ONE: Collision Course II this Friday, 25 December on ONE Championship\u2019s YouTube page, or on the ONE Super App!\u00a0 Join the conversations on THG’s\u00a0Facebook\u00a0and\u00a0Instagram, and get the latest updates via\u00a0Telegram."},{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Destinations","item":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/destinations\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Singapore","item":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/destinations\/\/singapore\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"On The Pitch: ONE Championship Lightweight MMA Fighter Amir Khan","item":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/destinations\/singapore\/on-the-pitch-one-championship-lightweight-mma-fighter-amir-khan\/#breadcrumbitem"}]}]