Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) is one of the fastest growing sports globally and its gaining in popularity in India as well. Checkout the real scene of MMA in India, and in metros like Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore…
MMA Gaining Popularity in India
A cage, a canvas floor in bright red and an audience on the edge of its seats. It’s a hand-picked scene from the Amitabh Bachchan-starrer Naseeb (1981) that suggests the reality of mixed martial arts (MMA) in India.
MMA has since attained the status of an alternative sport in India, thanks to various Championships and Leagues trying to make the sport more popular in India.
Underground wars in gyms and fight nights held at amateur clubs and the SFL have increased its popularity in India.
What is Mixed Martial Arts (MMA)?
MMA practitioners fight in a cage, incorporating a variety of combat techniques such as standing elbows, jiu-jitsu, karate, freestyle wrestling and kickboxing as they fight standing and sometimes on the ground.
There are many who call Mixed martial arts the gladiator games of modern times. Its a sport where two supremely-trained and fit fighters battle against each other in a steel cage.
The sport looks brutal and it takes a heavy toll on the body too. Its common to have one or two cracked or chipped bones at any time. Broken bones, concussions, injuries are common in this sport, and obviously this bloodthirsty sport is not for the faint-hearted. In fact, most MMA fighters get used to fighting with injuries (normal people won’t even be able to walk with such injuries). Injuries, cuts, bruises, broken bones are common in MMA. In this sport, you are never 100% okay.
MMA is Real, WWE is Enacted
Many who watch videos of Mixed Martial Arts feel that its as exciting as watching WWE (World Wrestling Entertainment).
However, many know that the stunts at the World Wrestling Federation (now called WWE) are enacted on stage to keep the audiences entertained, but that’s not the case with MMA where the fight is real and unscripted.
Indian women endure bruised faces (and family pressure) to become MMA fighters
Indian women endure broken bones, bruised faces, family pressure (and of-course society’s ridicule) to become Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) fighters.
Despite MMA being such a physical sport, you will be surprised to know that there are several woman MMA fighters in India as well (and the numbers continue to rise). Like most other physical sports, female MMA fighters in India have to also fight societal norms and age-old notions.
“When I started four years ago, there were very few MMA athletes. But the number of girls taking it up in gyms around Delhi has increased 3-4 times since then. That has happened because of more professional competitions in India, along with greater exposure,” 24-year-old Aditi Singh (MMA fighter)
Best Fighter of the League, Asha Roka’s journey as India’s most skilled female MMA fighter has just begun! #NeverStopFighting #SFL pic.twitter.com/f3f5vai0bm
— Super Fight League (@TheFightLeague) March 6, 2017
In several MMA competitions, women have to fight men, who show no mercy to them.
“Recently, at a boot camp, I had to fight two guys, both weighing almost 20kgs more than me. They don’t give you an inch. They still go for the same slams and choke holds that they would use against male opponents. They throw you around like a rag doll at times because they don’t want to be dominated by a woman,” 20-year-old Monika Sharma, fighter from Delhi.
“In practice or while sparring, boys don’t like to be belittled by girls. So even if they hold back initially, as soon as they sense that the girl is giving it her all, they also hit harder. There is no special consideration for us,” Aditi.
MMA: Another Popular Fitness and Self-Defence Option
MMA is also fast becoming popular as a fitness and self-defence regime in various urban cities in India. Gyms now offer training in MMA in the metro cities like Delhi and Mumbai.
With increasing concerns about women’s safety, most gyms are offering self-defence training for women and Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) is definitely one of the options.
Various Leagues & Championships
Super Fight League (SFL) is India’s largest platform for professional Mixed Martial Arts (MMA). Launched in 2012 by British-Indian business magnate Bill Dosanjh and British professional boxer Amir Khan, Super Fight League conducts events for professional Mixed Martial Arts (MMA). It gives opportunities to amateur fighters in a professional cage.
SFL promotes MMA sport in a manner that appeals commercially and also inspires the entertainment industry greatly. Amongst others, SFL launched ‘Friday Fight Nights’ and ‘SFL Challengers’ catering to reality television and being the one projecting India’s first MMA reality shows. SFL will also conduct monthly ‘MMA Fight Nights’ events throughout the year, in several cities, catering to its large fan base across India.
Siblings Tiger Shroff and Krishna Shroff will be collaborating and working together; the duo will host Mixed Martial Arts fight nights in various cities, beginning with Mumbai.External Links
- Mixed martial arts bloodier but less dangerous than boxing
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