For Singaporean lightweight Amir Khan (7-2), becoming a world champion is not enough. He is aiming to make history.

When he defeated Rajinder Singh Meena back in May at ONE: DYNASTY OF HEROES, Khan boldly declared, “Mark my words, I’ll be the first male Singaporean World Champion.”

Khan trains out of the respected Evolve MMA gym in Singapore, where he is surrounded by the best Asia has to offer on a daily basis, including current ONE Women’s Atomweight World Champion Angela Lee.

Under the tutelage of Evolve MMA head coach Brian Ebersole, the lightweight has rapidly developed into one of the hottest young prospects in ONE Championship.

With a three-bout win streak and his National Service obligations in the Singapore Civil Defence Force now completed, Khan’s focus has turned to climbing all the way to the top of the organization’s lightweight division.

That quest continues at ONE CHAMPIONSHIP: SHANGHAI on Saturday, 2 September, when he takes on Czech striker Jaroslav Jartim in his tenth professional bout.

Speaking ahead of the match, Khan says, “Jaroslav (Jartim) is tall, lanky, and throws conventional punches and kicks, so I did not bring anyone in to train for him. I just trained as per normal, and I feel I am good at adjusting to people’s movements, while others have a hard time adjusting to mine.”

That confidence, both in himself and his skills, was developed as a youngster, where he found martial arts as a way of coping with Tourette’s Syndrome and the bullying that came with it.

“I did not really fit in anywhere, so I guess I was looking for somewhere I could fit in, and I just stumbled across Muay Thai,” he explains. “I wanted to try it out to get stronger and boost my confidence.”

Khan fell in love with the striking art, trained and competed in it’s motherland of Thailand, and eventually reapplied those skills to the cage when he made the switch to professional competition in February 2014.

The lightweight was also afforded the luxury of concentrating on following his dreams of being a world champion without the financial rigors that stresses many of the world’s young adults today. His father provided both emotional and monetary support to assist in his mission.

“My dad believes in working for your passion,” Khan begins. “When I was growing up, all of my friends were working, and they had more money to spend. So, I was telling my dad that I should just find a job so I did not have to ask for money from him.

“He stopped me, and said, ‘If you want money, just ask for it from me, as long as you are doing what you love. I would rather you train for eight hours instead of being a waiter for eight hours.’ He does not really like me to waste my time. That is what he believes – if you really love it and are committed to it, then spend your entire time doing it.”

Now he is putting those years of hard training to good use, and will have the opportunity to display them for the world to see on 2 September against Jartim. With a win, he takes a massive step towards accomplishing his dream.

“Throughout the year, whether I have a match or not, I am only looking to improve myself,” he says. “All the other factors, like my next opponent, are just things that will get me closer to the title.”