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Kiru Singh Sahota spoke in depth about what it means to represent the Sikh community, his fighting inspirations and his upcoming contest in the Road to UFC Season 3 final.
Kiru Singh Sahota could become the first British-Sikh fighter in the UFC. (Image: Instagram/@kirusinghsahota)
British-origin MMA fighter, Kiru Singh Sahota stands a chance at securing a contract with the Ultimate Fighting Championship in the men’s flyweight division in Season 3 of the Road to UFC.
The 29-year-old fighter based in Manchester United, Kingdom, holds an impressive record of 12 wins and 2 losses. Seven of these victories have come via knockout, while two have been through submissions. But now he will face his biggest challenge as he is up against South Korea’s Dong Hun Choi, who stands undefeated with a record of eight wins.
But before that, he was inspired by Subaig Singh, another UK-based Sikh fighter. After watching him in an MMA contest, he wanted to know more about the sport and his local Gurudwara (Sikh Temple) had conducted a session.
In an interaction with News18 Sports, Kiru Singh Sahota spoke in depth about what it means to represent the Sikh community, his fighting inspirations and his upcoming contest in the Road to UFC Season 3 final.
“I didn’t even really know what MMA was or anything, but I saw one fighter called Subaig Singh just fight in the cage because everyone was like look a Singh is fighting in a cage and it was known as cage fighting and like I did not think I want to be like this or whatever,” he shared.
“I just thought, this is sick, we’ve got one of our own doing it and it made me happy to see that. It was only until there were MMA classes at my local Gurudwara, my local Sikh temple that I did one session and wanted to do it as much as possible. And I wanted to compete and pursue the sport. It was only until I did it myself that I thought this is something I want to pursue,” he added.
Representing the Sikh community is a challenge that Sahota embraces with open arms. The fighter sees his potential entry to the UFC as the spark to bring forth a new wave of Punjabi fighters to the spotlight and he does not take that responsibility lightly.
“For me, it is 14 years of hard work. It all depends on this one fight. For the Sikh community, there are no Punjabi UFC fighters but I am 100 per cent sure that there will be some more after I get signed. When I win, my people also win. I feel like there is maybe that extra motivation that it is everything to me. Words can’t even express it because it’s an honour for me,” Sahota commented.
His journey into MMA was not a big one. Like any interested prospect who wants to pursue the sport professionally, Sahota struggled to find the right training to help bolster and diversify his skills on the octagon. But with the sport reaching new heights of popularity, he was then affiliated with the Manchester Top Team where he can comfortably work on his skills and focus on delivering results.
“Even when the sport was less popular, I would say it was just about getting quality and all-round training was one of the harder things back then. But now it’s become more accessible and there are top gyms like Manchester Top Team, the team that I’m at. We’ve got everything under one roof,” Sahota credited the rise in the sport’s popularity enabling him to find a platform for himself.
“Just everything now is for MMA is the is the new shiny object that everyone wants to be a part of. It’s booming all over the world really. There are fewer obstacles now than what there were for me when I started,” he added.
Coming to his upcoming fight, Sahota suggested that while his opponent might have an impressive record, his striking abilities could be his advantage over the South Korean fighter. Despite the undefeated record, Sahota does not intend to back down from a challenge as he predicted a second-round knockout in the big finale for the event.
“I feel like I have the edge in striking. I am going to put it on him and he is going to start shooting. He thinks he is a striker when he fights. He has a background in judo and he will be grappling when I fight with him. And also, he’s undefeated as a professional, but I’ve heard he’s also undefeated as an amateur too. But this doesn’t matter,” he concluded.
Reflecting on his opponent’s Judo background, Sahota feels that Hun Choi would be looking to grapple with him but he does not plan on letting his opponent take control and hope that he can get the job done to make his community proud and set the tone for the future.
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