Yahoo Sports 'I want to inspire British Pakistanis to be the first in their field'
"I want to set the standard," mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter Haider Khan tells BBC Newsbeat ahead of the biggest fight of his career in Dubai later.
The 25-year-old from Oldham - nicknamed Darth Vader - is going into the bout against Saudi Arabia's Mostafa Rashed Nada with a 9-1 win-loss record.
This weekend is billed as the PFL's biggest yet, and Haider will appear on the undercard for the main event between lightweight champion Usman Nurmagomedov, from Russia, and Ireland's Paul Hughes.
It will be the largest crowd Haider's fought in front of in his five years since turning pro, and he isn't only focused on winning with such a huge platform.
"I want to be that person for people to show their parents when they get home so they have an easier time pursuing it," he tells BBC Newsbeat.
Haider got into MMA while he was at uni. Before that, he was a promising rugby league star.
After more than a decade on the pitch and signing an academy contract, he soon realised he “didn't really love the sport any more".
"I don't think I ever truly did have that love. I was just good."
But when he first got into MMA, he says he felt like "God made me for fighting", but feels it's not his only purpose.
"I want to inspire people to do things, but not just in the MMA community," he says.
"There's plenty of things we haven't done as British Pakistanis. Why not be the first one to go do something in a different realm?
"You've got to set the standards and keep pushing. The doors will open if you keep working hard."
Increasingly, British Pakistanis are making their mark on MMA but there's still yet to be a British Asian major world champion.
In 2021, Faisal Malik spoke to BBC Sport about his ambitions to be the first UFC champion from a Pakistani background after making a name for himself in the European MMA.
Faisal agrees that seeing role models in top promotions will help to drive other British Asians to ascend in the sport.
He now runs his own gym - Legends MMA, in Luton - and tells Newsbeat that about 300 to 400 students come through each week.
He estimates that a good 80% of those are British Pakistani.
Faisal says he faced some obstacles due to his background during his own career, but isn't convinced there's the same "glass ceiling" in MMA sometimes seen in other sports.
"MMA is still new," he says.
"It's still early doors. Give it another five to ten years and you'll see guys fighting in the top promotions."
'It's a different side to my character'
Participation in MMA has been helped by the sport's changing image, according to Faisal.
Now 31, when he started out he'd hear friends and family tell others he was into "cage fighting" - referring to the eight-sided octagon ring where fights take place.
"There was no future in it, that's what everyone would say to me," he says.
"It was looked down upon."
Now Faisal says he has parents bringing their children to his gym, keen for them to spar and learn skills.
"It's more mainstream now," he says.
"It's more appealing to British Asians because it's everywhere."
Faisal believes that fighters will progress if they have the backing of fans - and their families.
Haider says he's lucky to have had supportive parents - even if his mum's never watched him in the cage.
It's not just her son she doesn't want to see hurt. "She doesn't even want to see me hurt someone else," the 25-year-old says.
"She hates the fact that I fight but she loves the fact that I'm doing something that I love."
As for that nickname, inspired by the Star Wars villain, Haider says it's a reference to his "dark side".
"It's a different side of my character that I get to uncage in the cage," he says.
"I just can't have that person across from me thinking they're better than me."
He's hoping the force will be with him inside it later.
Listen to Newsbeat live at 12:45 and 17:45 weekdays - or listen back here.
