The Professional Fighters League’s Souhil Tahiri is as intelligent as he is violent.

His doctorate in mathematics tells you as much, as he heads into his PFL MENA 3 lightweight semifinal opposite Mohsen Mohammadseifi this Friday at the PFL MENA Studio in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Tahiri continues to chase his dreams of becoming a world champion and making it onto the PFL global roster, all while staying focused on success inside and outside the cage. He wants to silence the doubters and show them he was right.

“It was always very important to me,” Tahiri told Sherdog.com. “I started the combat sports journey at the same time I started my studies journey. I started combat sports for modest reasons, not to be a world champion. I just wanted to be in good shape. It was the same in my studies. I wasn’t the best student before. I just wanted to be a better man in every area. Since I started those two disciplines, everyone around me in my environment didn’t believe in me. I was trying to show them that it is possible. I was thinking, ‘Let me prove you all wrong.’ But even I was doubting myself.

“Today, I proved myself and I proved to everyone else that this is possible,” he added. “I keep those two areas because they define me. [Because] I have these two paths and I give all of myself to them, I want to prove everyone wrong.”

Tahiri understands the significance of having a major promotion like the PFL show interest in the Middle East and North Africa.

“I think it is good for the development of all MMA in this region,” he said. “I love what the PFL is doing right now. This model will work. I believe in a few years this model will be the top model to be working in MMA. They are pushing the talent from this region, and that’s how we can grow this sport and make people invest in this sport. It’s very huge for us, it’s very huge for the people interested in this region and it’s huge for the economy.”

It also offers Tahiri the opportunity to take his career to another level.

“When I started combat sports, I had two dreams,” he said. “I started because I wanted to get in shape, but my first dream was to have ab muscles. I was skinny. I was weak. I couldn’t lift myself doing push-ups. The second dream was to fight with no gear. When I started in boxing, we fought with big gloves and headgear, and I thought maybe one day I’d have enough experience to be able to fight with no gear. That was my dream. I reached my dream in 2016, and since then, I’ve just been living my dream. If I reach this level [of becoming a PFL MENA champion], it’s like I reach another galaxy or another place in this universe.”

Tahiri respects what Mohammadseifi brings to the table as a five-time gold medalist in sanda at the World Wushu Championships.

“He has two stones in his hand, so I know if he connects with one punch, he can make me go to sleep for a long time,” Tahiri said. “I’m aware of the dangers, but I’m not afraid. He can hit hard, but I also hit hard. I’m as dangerous on my feet as him. I’m also dangerous in wrestling, more dangerous on the ground, so let’s see. What I want for this fight? I want him to come with the intention to kill me, because I’m coming with the intention to kill him.