Amit “Achilles” Tah

Hi my name is Amit Tah World MMA Champion I'm from Iver, South Buckinghamshire and grew up in West London, United Kingdom.

My father deceased in 2008 I am the son of music mogul Vikram Tah, he had a distribution company for T-series for around 30 years. He was a pioneer in the Asian music industry. My family were heavily involved with my father being a closely associated business partner of billionaire Gulshan kumar.

I've grown up around legends in the Bollywood industry as mere child such as Jagjit Singh, Gurdass Maan, Hans Raj Hans, Salman Khan and miss world Sushmita Senn.

The industry was on the decline due to piracy after a more than fruitful period. My father made me aware of this prior to his death. My family and I diversified into property. We also a owned cinema in Leicester for some years and many other business.

I've had some amazing memories with my father travelling the world and I was lucky enough to enjoy the fruits of his labour with the company he built. I currently have a property on rent and my family were able to always provide a good life.

I myself one of a few of my friends to complete university and study for a masters. I have two siblings one a low level singer the other a mother residing in the US. I have one surviving parent and I spent much time maturing to a man without a father. I've had a turbulent family history by 15 and my family tried to control me and dictate a lifestyle to me as I matured. I only really returned home in 2020 due to COVID but as my parents are now old it has allowed us to develop a bond and respect.

Intro: Amit "Achilles"Tah

I myself am the first Indian to become the World and UK professional MMA champion. I am also a European K1 kickboxing champion.

I have also been a Tuff grappling champion (2012), FILA grappling champion(2011) and winning ZT semi pro gold medallist (2010) with these fights allowing headshots on the ground in MMA transforming me into a professional fighter in my early twenties. This was consequently from fighting a high calibre professional fighter at 21 the first Indian to do so at that tender age. The fighter Liam Etebar went onto become a world title challenger and a Bellator scheduled fighter against former team mate Rafel cewrojwski and with him having already fought on UCMMA professionally before fighting me. Liam Etebar was a young prodigy; him and myself operate at grade A calibre of skill level. I come from elite list of fighters and athletes some of the best in the world. I'm a keen mixed martial artist, I trained with Kelvin Bilal Fawaz national boxing champion in my youth.

I then transitioned into MMA as I found it one dimensional and I already had a bodybuilding background.

I met and was trained by Alberto Mina UFC fighter and BJJ blackbelt after my fathers death.

I had many coaches but Professor Alberto mina inspired me deeply and inspired me to too follow this path.

Andy Zajac was my striking coach who perfected my striking, He was Thai boxing European silver medallist and veteran of hundreds of fights.

2008-2009

Post my fathers death I lived by myself most of the time I was around 100 kilos and my life changed as I met Paul Ivens and I was a kid who was already heavy handed.

I trained at Tiger Muay Thai for conditioning in Phuket in Thailand. I competed as a light heavyweight in grappling for some experience as I never tried it before and just missed out on a knee bar finish. I found my bodyweight and BMI was different and luckily allowed me to retain immense power.

I was a young doorman and seen a lot of the London party scene and lived that phase of my life to fullest. It was at this age amongst that environment in the nightlife industry, meant I had many partners in my love life all from different backgrounds. Lots of beautiful women.

2010

In 2010 I won a ZT gold medal having moisted off a pro fighter previously much to the disbelief of those watching I clearly mounted my opponent for the whole first fight despite him being more experienced than me I dealt with him comfortably. The second fight having also knocked my opponent out with a strike halting him, I brushed him aside for an exhausting total of 13.5 minutes having exerted much more energy. The fight was in-house and had no judges except the coach of their team and mine they wanted to declare him the winner whereas my coach declared me the winner. The crowd clearly knew as I visibly won having KO'ed him and declared me the winner with complete silence from his supporters after the fight. It was not a judged event with officials and the show was designed to give people experience for transitioning to the cage. I went onto dismantle other semi pro fighters and an amateur fight on Jeremy baileys event in reading. I submitted my opponent within 10-15 seconds, I'm vastly travelled having been to over 20 countries and over 50 cities.

2011

In 2011 I won the FILA grappling championship against very tough opponents. I managed to get past a tough guillotine choke that most would have not survived it was extremely deep, it hadn't been the first time I've escaped deep chokes.

My opponents were hometown favourites for some reason at competition I would always somehow get past the favourite.

I also managed to survive 2 near fatal crashes one in my Porsche the same year. I could also now compete against more pros elsewhere, but myself and my peers were already world class level. I knew I would benefit immensely in skill and I was correct with a legendary team I was honoured to compete alongside having been one of the youngest.

2012

By 2012 the UK MMA industry was fairly saturated, In 2012 I came across a tough final, I became Tuff grappling challenge champ this year outsmarting my opponent tactically and executing a kimura lock. I shifted my own back out of place to reach for his arm from an acute position to get a grip and finish the submission. I now can reach further towards one side of my back than the other.

I also nearly broke my other opponents back from a powerful slam and toyed with him. I graduated officially from my studies at university this year which I opted to do on a part time basis and I also got accepted into regents college.

2013-2015

In 2013 I took a rest in Dubai whilst still training at LSF and wrestling. I had qualified to great standard and it was an enormous achievement to have acquired a great skill. I had been a frequent visitor to the club scene in London and by this age had seen it to the fullest, going to the best establishments in London.

In 2014 I went travelling to the USA and Mexico and took a rest from training , I also took time to go Greece and rested in 2015 from exhaustion and the hard training I had done as a youth. I still was doing cardio and gym whilst earning money from my rental property. I still visited town with my then acquaintance that I knew was temporary.

2016-2018

In 2016 I was back; I went to Orlando BJJ alliance and spared pro UFC fighter Per Ecklund and trained at ATT Orlando where I met Paul Rodriguez

and Jose Figueroa, I learnt new angles and still had all my striking skills. I fully refuelled having trained my socks off as a youngster frequently using golds gym as well.

I enjoyed Orlando then later moved on to train at Renee's boxing gym for a short period of time as I decided where I would go to train, explore and purchase more property.

I moved around Orlando's famous resorts and had a great time, however due to my exploits while on holiday my family became increasingly frustrated with me and had me collared for partying and going wild abroad.

In 2017 I decided to make plans to go to Kings MMA to make some adjustments to my striking.

I had arguably one of the best experiences of my life in Huntington beach and LA. It was an honour to meet master Rafael Cordiero,

arguably one of the best coaches in the world. His knowledge was absolutely priceless, I managed and was comfortable here it was home and it felt like home. I also got rolling again which is always difficult having only focused on striking.

I was close to tying the knot as I was already somewhat joined with a partner under false pretences from Orlando, but I decided not to tie the knot with the Mexican girl from California despite with legitimate feelings and not falsification this time.

In 2018 I met master Sergio Cunha now a family

friend close to Master Rafael Cordiero. They both nurtured me over my travels and I will never forget that.

I also met Master Bruno Malfacine again and polished off my ground game. I was asked to fight for Alliance which was an honour it felt surreal.

I managed to meet Master Marcio Simas also at Gracie Barra Orlando, I was trained by master Luiz Tosta in The UK at LSF who’s apart of Gracie Barra as well.

I managed to catch up with master Alexis, Marius and Paul.

I realised how lucky I am to experience all of this, most people some celebrities and fighters included have not been able to. Upon my return in 2018 my family were furious upon my arrival to London I was shortly remanded for abusive texts as punishment and discomfort for me beginning MMA again and travelling to the states.

2019

In 2019 I got promoted to black belt in Muay Thai by my long time coach Andy Zajac as he was really impressed by my new striking skills. I also became one of the first professional Indian MMA champions in MMA from the UK if any. I won the UK Combat Challenge Championship. I also did a grading with long time LSF team mate Alex Reid who’s awarded me my black belt in kickboxing.

I'm already part of a list of elite fighters. This will solidify my place in history as I'm already a qualified advanced grappler and professional MMA fighter as I could easily kill someone with my skill set and from fighting a top tier pro already. I worked for my uncles in there shop and at breeze bar and cocktails which I only agreed to as my family once again bought me another property in 200k cash. As I had spend 100k on a flat in Orlando already in 2017. Once I secured the property I got a job as a controller working at cross street cars in Swindon this was a temporary role I decided on occupying for the next few years. I decided would need a concentration outlay to direct my efforts to that would also satisfy my family and working for an upcoming competitive period of MMA fights.

2020-2022

In 2020 there was actually a global pandemic where by the whole country was put on lockdown to stay within doors and I still managed to train and stay fit.

In 2021 I decided to continue competing in MMA many times as most people compete that many times over a period of time or there whole career. I fought again and finished my opponent via arm triangle in a UFL world title eliminator. I then fought on the lockdown fight series finishing my opponent via rear naked choke in 35 seconds.

I was offered world titles by two establishments and realised I could make history by becoming the first Indian to become British UK MMA champion and World champion. I fought for a UFL world title and guillotined my opponent first round at the UFL show in Aldershot after showing great heart to recover from a big shot early on. I have managed to build a record that some have amassed over their whole career in a year. I also continued work this time as a base controller at Ontime cars, in Maidenhead. This was to keep my temporary occupation and realised it also managed to give me a daily structure.

In 2022 I worked hard in the gym and took it up a gear, Managed to get rolling with the black belts again. I flattened training partners under the guidance of Paul Ivens. I enjoyed training with Alfie Davis. We used to train as youngsters and worked different techniques.

I felt at this stage by summer even though I had planned a gap year to hone my skills I needed to change my training as it became repetitive and only had a few training partners that have been the long haul of the academy with me. I had two K1 fights cancelled this year. I wanted to just keep using my skills.

I made the decision with less privacy in the gym to move on to Great Britain Top Team in Mitcham.

The facilities are great and there are a great variety of training methods and training partners.

In 2022 I started to work as a production executive for a merchandising company, dealing with clients like Shell, DP world and Amazon. I am enjoying the work and working hard as ideally that would be a long term position for me. I was offered a renewed contract but found the work stressful but made some great friends and amicably moved on.

2023

In 2023, Having negotiated with people who had competed on various shows such as Bellator and UFC none of which came to fruition even with me signing a contract for one of the proposed bouts. Negotiations fell through with various Bellator opponents and 2 UFC opponents, such as: Martin hudson 5-8 (win against Bellator champion Terry Brazier) Simone la preziosa 8-6 (Bellator) Roldan sangchan 4-3 (UFC) and Charlie Milner 7-4 (Bellator) as he didn't signed the contract after I did.

In Spring of 2023 I Fought UCMMA veteran Matt Holland 6-12 shortly after he beat Iss kurdi 4-3. Matt has fought UFC contender Thomas Paul, Matt Holland who had 6 wins and 12 losses as a professional and is 4-4 as an amateur has had more than 20 fights in his career.

Matt Holland is a recognised fighter having been around the circuit for a long time. He also owns a win against veteran Kes Mamba who has a win over Bellator fighter Umer Kayani and has also fought UFC fighters.

I defeated Matt in the first round comfortably having completed a 14 year absence from me fighting higher level opposition in a competition. I went full circle since fighting in 2010 against Liam Etebar a top tier grade A fighter as this was another well respected fighter again. Matt has who has both wins and losses with the ability to win and also a veteran. The UCMMA veteran again from a recognised show such as UCMMA competed many times for them this was a good win to have.

To come back and do that after such a long time and be taking young and prime athletes day in day out in the gym is a really good feeling. I went full circle and show no signs of slowing down or any real change yet. My lay off was due to high intensity training, also not due to lack of progress with potential outcomes in competition like peers but rather from an MMA career financially. The purse of a top level fight is often less than the price of a home. Further the constant battling which progressed me well and enhanced my abilities but also made me fizzle out completing superior ability at a young age. Upon my return I gradually put strain on myself and opted for intensity bursts, this meant I didn’t feel as much strain with less battling, hence the longevity I was able to keep. Then also battling in training was productive when elevated.

In the summer of 2023 I fought in a European K1 kickboxing title fight to display striking skills having always been a dangerous and awkward striker for some time. I thought it was appropriate to be recognised for my striking as I would inflict fatal injuries to someone from strikes.

I fought in Scotland on the Forza championship for a European K1 Forza Championship. I dropped my opponent 3 times in the first 2 rounds then killed off the clock and won the fight by displaying impressive striking via a unanimous decision win.

It was a rather emotional in terms of the length of time it had been since first striking in the gym and putting my gloves on. I first started boxing at 16-17 and become a efficient striker between 20-23.

I always possessed natural punching ability but was known as one of the hardest punchers in my gym.

2024

I was now a Close protection operative. Work as a care home support officer and do other CPO work allowing me to save for a second rental home.

I had endured a tough time at GBTT with various infections and knocks. There were untoward moments from success heightened popularity made me encounter some fighters again.

A upcoming undefeated fighter shattering his reputation amongst talk of a fight. A legend who was moist, They all backed out.

I felt comfortable sparring with ranked fighters. I wanted to go further with Brad Pickett was someone I looked up to as a kid. Distance prevailed as I wanted more hours in the gym.

I had thoughts of a family now with age and had a practical idea of money, So I decided to train under the Gracie academy aswell as Checkmat spectrum. I work on my grappling alongside and my kickboxing to sustain. I would look to get toned now, by increasing explosiveness in strength with weight training now apart of my weekly routine at a good gym in London. Would be travelling around London utilising classes available for my sport.

I was ready to settle down as an Indian to have been with almost 200 women by 23/24 whilst chasing jujitsu, it was not only rare but unheard of. So hence the decision to alter focus. It is more common with the white and blacks to adhere to this way of life, I had grown up the same. It matured me a lot far earlier than most 22/23 year olds. I also though didn’t really have a family and became used to that way of life.

I also further needed the best training as my peers and I were very high level. I had almost starved since 19 to make the 70kg even 84kg bracket. I decided to begin to gradually go to my natural weight as I wanted my body settle.

At this point knew I would become more effective with skill at that weight so gradually began increasing weight with age. I would also at this point now start looking at a future abroad. This was the end of my journey and the beginning of one in grappling and settling down.

Summary

I had now become not only the first Indian to hold the World and UK title in MMA. But now to also have a professional title in another format (striking) holding all 3 belts.

I'm going deeper in to Gi-jujistu as this will sustain skill into old age, continuing MMA and NO-Gi jujitsu with many options for me. Luckily I have many years to keep competing due to my natural weight and I will increase my family property portfolio as I mature. I would still stay premium fight level till 42 whether MMA or grappling continually sharpening skills, I would finish my career at a more natural heavier weight at 110 kg.

I decided upon proceeding back to martial arts to now rather focus on a strength of mine from MMA in the grappling segment, despite my greatest strength is combining everything in a MMA fight. It’s a knack I would show natural fighting ability for especially of someone of Indian heritage. I would also practise MMA but I knew it would be more sustainable to later age with grappling as there is less potential damage than from MMA.

Id like to thank everyone for everything and enabling me to be in this position.

Id like to thank god for everything so far and wish everyone health and prosperity.

Warmest regards

Amit Tah

Fight summary:

5-0 Professional MMA Record (2019-2023)

4-0-1 Amateur MMA record (2009-est 2010)

9-0-1 Combined MMA record

1-0 Kickboxing record (2023)

NOGI/Grappling record: 4-1 (+2 forfeit wins 2008-2012)

First Indian World and British Professional MMA champion

Fought Bellator scheduled fighter and former world title challenger