Tourette’s can’t slow ONE FC’s Amir Khan
Armir Khan: “I don’t mind living with it, it doesn’t really affect me. But I’m trying to control it every day, slowly, and as I get older hopefully it’ll reduce.”
Evolve MMA’s Amir Khan was competing internationally Muay Thai at age 14, wrestled in high school, has a blue belt from Relson Gracie, won his ONE FC debut last month, and has Tourette Syndrome. Tourette’s is an inherited neuropsychiatric disorder with onset in childhood, characterized by multiple physical tics and at least one vocal tic.
You can see it plainly as the Singaporean fighter takes out Jian Kai Chee.
Tourette’s hasn’t hurt Khan, 19, at all.
Maybe it helps because it’ll distract my opponent and he can’t read my eyes. That’s an advantage, joked Khan to Justin Ong for Yahoo Sports Singapore.
I don’t mind living with it, it doesn’t really affect me. But I’m trying to control it every day, slowly, and as I get older hopefully it’ll reduce.
I think winning or losing doesn’t matter, as long as I do my thing in the cage. I don’t really worry about being embarrassed; I don’t really care about the outcome – as long as I know I train hard.
“I got an opportunity for ONE FC, and I think it’s going to be the next greatest thing, so I took it… I’m not really stuck on ‘Oh, I need to be in the UFC’. I’ll take whichever opportunity comes first.
Khan next fights Pakistani Waqar Umar at ONE FC: Battle of Lions, on 7 November at the Singapore Indoor Stadium.