Muhammad Aiman has not fought in 932 days. That is not the way the 27-year-old Malaysian bantamweight planned it, but he is making the most of his situation. During his hiatus – the result of a persistent shoulder injury – the ONE Championship fighter has begun carving out a secondary career as a professional model. It has not always been easy, but he says there is some overlap between the two professions. “It’s really cool,” he told the Post from his home in Bali, Indonesia. “It’s definitely almost like fighting. You’re doing it for free at first, then you kind of figure it out. It’s been really cool. I’ve been really lucky. “It’s pretty natural for me, that’s why I like it. But at the same time, like in everything, there’s stuff to work on. “It’s still the beginning for me, but I enjoy it, and it’s something I want to do.” View this post on Instagram A post shared by Muhammad Aiman (@aimandorner_) Aiman (6-4) has also been teaching children’s classes at Bali MMA, where he has trained for the bulk of his career. He enjoys that work too, and still trains regularly himself – including a new weightlifting routine – but admits it is challenging not being able to fight. “It’s been hard because, one, I can’t be there for most of my teammates because I get anxious and a bit depressed,” he said. “I see them struggling or I see them doing good and I get mad at myself. That’s one thing that’s hard. “It makes me sad when people say, ‘I want to see you again’. I’m like, ‘Me too, but I’m going through something, trying to get healthy’.” ONE: Bivins aims to emulate Angela Lee ahead of MMA debut Aiman has been working with several physiotherapists and rehab specialists, but says he is “flying blind” in terms of his recovery timeline. Still, he is hopeful that he will be able to fight by “November or December” – and if that’s the way things go, he has an opponent in mind. He is hoping for a fight with Myanmar’s Tial Thang (3-1), a stablemate of former two-division champion Aung La N Sang. From the sounds of it, the match-up has already been floated in the past. “I think they were talking about me and Tial Thang – Aung La’s boy,” he said. “I’m down to do that. Aung La is one of my closest friends in ONE. Even though we don’t talk a lot, I really look up to him and Martin [Nguyen] in ONE. So it’s comfortable for me to fight one of his boys. “It’s kind of cool. It’s not much pressure, you’re just fighting one of his boys to see who’s best. I think they’ve been talking about that and I love that match-up.” One way or the other, Aiman’s overarching goal remains the same: fighting for the ONE Championship bantamweight belt, currently held by Brazilian knockout artist John Lineker. “I want to fight for the title,” he said. “I know I’m a long way away, but I’m still pretty young. I’m 27. I want to get there. I want to be a champion in this division.”