Exclusive | How Khalid Taha Accidentally Fell In Love With MMA “I have to learn this”
UFC veteran Khalid Taha will be making his debut in Oktagon MMA this weekend in his hometown of Dortmund, Germany on April 5. Ahead of the matchup, we discuss how he got started in MMA and what’s next in his future.
Khalid Taha
After moving with his family to Dortmund, he reconnected with an old friend who introduced him to MMA and cage fighting. Initially skeptical, I gave it a shot. He said: “I was 20 years old. I’m not sure when I first heard about MMA in Germany because I was growing up and living in a small city. There was no MMA; there was only boxing and kickboxing.”
“I met an old friend, and he was telling me, like, ‘Yeah, I’m doing MMA and cage fighting and blah blah blah.’ And I said, ‘Go shut the F* up. This is only in America and on YouTube. We don’t have this kind of sport in Germany.’ Then he said, ‘No, for real. We have an octagon there.’ And I said, ‘Okay, I want to train too. I want to join your training.’ He said, ‘Okay, you can come with me.'”
See the full interview with Khalid Taha below:
“I was thinking in my head like, ‘Damn, I grab his head; I punch him in the face—that’s it.’ But that’s not how it works. Then I realized I had to go again; I had to do it again. I had to see what’s behind this submission thing. Then—I don’t even know how—it was maybe a guillotine or whatever choke; I grabbed someone, and he tapped. I was so happy! And I said, ‘Okay, I have to learn this [__]. I have to learn this.’ And that’s the day when I started with MMA.”
Khalid Taha is set to face Jose Zarauz at Oktagon 69 on April 5. After years away due to a hand injury, he’s finally back in MMA.
