Souhil Tahiri (Credit: PFL MENA)
PFL MENA: With PhD in hand Souhil Tahiri wants to show you can thrive in and outside of fighting
Normally, every professional combat sports athlete can be defined as just a fighter, but in reality there’s so much more to them. There’s no better prime example than Souhil Tahiri who has his PhD in maths and wants the world to know that professional fighters can be more than just that. Ahead of his PFL MENA debut, Tahiri spoke about his life accomplishments outside the cage and what motivates him as he prepares for the biggest stage of his fighting career.
Not only showing what he’s done in his career and life, Souhil Tahiri believes it is an amazing opportunity to have a company like the Professional Fighters League put together events solely based on and for the Middle East.
“It’s just amazing because it gives Arab fighters the very good opportunity to show up and be on the biggest stages. Where other organizations in the world don’t give us this opportunity. I’m sure it will help the development in the sport and in the MENA region, we have some of the best athletes in the world. With this kind of organization [PFL] with this kind of visibility, the sport will grow and in a couple of years you will see some of the best fighters in the world emerging from this world. I’m really happy to be part of that.”
With his educational success, Tahiri would like to be a form of inspiration to everyone around the world and show them that they can pursue excellence in more than one thing in their life.
“It’s something I want to show people and I want to inspire people from my story. There are many fighters like me. Just in my gym we have 2 guys with their PhDs and I want to show everyone that it is possible. It’s really important also to show all the people in the world that MMA is more accessible than they think. There are many who believe that when you do MMA you break your nose, you have to be very strong, I want to kill this idea. I want to show people that you can practice this sport, at top level, and be a normal guy. Your background doesn’t have to be about coming from bad things, you can be a normal person and be my top level.”
There could be no greater difference in his upcoming matchup at PFL MENA as Tahiri, who can be referred to as Dr. will be taking on Ahmed Amir, who has a nickname of “The Butcher” in what will be a matchup of two veterans. PFL MENA will represent a lot for fighters in the Middle East and while some are out to prove they can be world champion, or they are the best fighter from the Middle East, Souhil Tahiri wants to prove you can do more than just professional fighting.
