I grew up in war-torn Afghanistan and escaped to save my life… now I’m an MMA star looking to become champion
HAVING escaped war-torn Afghanistan in a bid to save his life, Sahil Siraj laughs at the thought of ever being intimidated in the cage.
Siraj is 9-2 in MMA after moving to Sweden at the age of 20 in a bid to fight for a better life.
He grew up in the Afghan capital of Kabul – where The Taliban terrorist group entered in September 1996.
From a young age, Siraj knew nothing but war and conflict until fleeing almost 3,000 miles to desperately get away.
He told SunSport: “Some people, they don’t understand. We’ve seen so much, whether it’s war or all the time bombing, we’ve been through so much.
“By the time I first opened up my eyes, there was war in Afghanistan and even now, there is still the Taliban there.
“But still, I was happy. You get used to the environment when you grow up in these places.
“Then when I come here the smallest things people make a big drama. I don’t understand, we’ve been through so much, it’s laughable.”
Siraj began training in Muay Thai and kickboxing at 15 while also playing for Afghanistan’s rugby sevens squad.
At 18, he moved into MMA to try and earn a living but he did not even have a gym to train in before emigrating to Europe.
Siraj said: “It was not easy to grow up there, to go to school, especially martial arts training we didn’t have a gym.
“We had to make our own bags, we had no mats, it was rock solid floor.
“Then when I leave and see these opportunities and what people have here, it’s mind blowing.
“People don’t appreciate it, when you go through something you appreciate it a lot more, today kids all have iPhones and games and still they’re crying and moaning.
“We never had anything, we were so happy just to go to my uncle’s place every Friday and just watch a movie.
“I appreciate everything I have now and I’m going to take advantage of everything.”
Siraj is now signed to European promotion Oktagon MMA and features in a 16-man tournament with a £285,000 cash prize at stake.
He was due to return on March 2 against Britain’s Akonne Wanliss but a brawl between the opposing camps just a day earlier forced a postponement.
The grudge bout instead takes place on April 20 in Wanliss’ hometown of Birmingham.
But for Siraj, the journey remains the same despite preparing to go behind enemy lines.
He said: “The goal is to achieve all of the desires I have in my heart.
“To be one of the best in the sport. First it starts with Oktagon and the belt, then to go to the UFC.”