The latest fad in Mumbai

With ordinary Mumbaikars aspiring to become full time fighters, Mixed Marital Arts (MMA) has finally arrived in the city

A full contact combat sport is slowly capturing the imagination of ordinary Mumbaikars. Martial arts enthusiasts believe that Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) will be the 'the next big thing' in the city.


Fight night in Mumbai

MMA initially gained popularity in the West through fight nights, which were organised by various fight clubs. Unlike other forms of martial arts, MMA is more about free-style fighting, where fighters use a combination of techniques derived from various martial arts forms like karate, judo, taekwondo and others.

What was earlier limited to martial arts experts, is now being pursued as a profession by martial arts enthusiasts from various fields. Lawyers, real estate agents, businessmen and students are aspiring to become full time MMA fighters.

Sagar Kadu (28), a lawyer from Panvel is also an MMA fighter. Kadu's MMA skills may not match up to international standards but Kadu claims that he is undefeatable on Mumbai's MMA circuit.

"I have participated in all three fight nights in Mumbai and I had a great experience. Unlike various forms of martial arts, like judo, karate, etcetera, in MMA the money is good," said Kadu, who has been training in karate for the last 15 years.

The fighters in MMA earn anything between Rs 10,000-Rs 25,000 in one fight night. While MMA pays well, it doesn't pay enough for fighters to take it up as a full time profession.u00a0


Satyavijay Raut at a martial arts training centre

"Although I want to become a full time MMA fighter, I may not be able to earn enough only through fight nights. The sport is still at a nascent stage in our country," said Kadu, who charges Rs 10,000 for one fight night.

Satyavijay Raut, a security officer with a company too wants to become a full time MMA fighter. "It is the craze associated with the sport, which appeals to me. I am well trained in various forms of martial arts including judo and kickboxing.
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This works to my advantage in MMA, where one needs to possess a variety of skills to win the competition," said Raut.

Popular
Fight nights in Mumbai is the brainchild of Prashant Kumar, Managing Director (MD) of Full Contact Entertainment Pvt. Ltd (FCC), which was established in 2006. When asked if fight nights are legal, Kumar said, "Like boxing, karate etcetera, MMA too is a sport. Moreover, FCC is registered under the Sports Authority of India (SAI)."
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About MMA, Kumar said, "MMA is a combination of Muay Thai, kickboxing, grappling, boxing and taekwondo. There are different weight classes for the fighters. MMA is hugely popular abroad and in India it is slowly catching up."

MMA is different from other forms of martial arts because it is freestyle fighting. "Fight nights are about professional fighting.


Raut, a security officer with a firm, aspires to be a MMA fighter

These are not amateur fights. Hence, there's no headgear, you just have mixed martial arts gloves (unlike boxing gloves these gloves can give you more grip), groin guards and gum guard. But we take precautionary measures. Two ambulances are always present at the venue.
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A doctor too is present, while the fights are on," said Kumar, who has his own ad film production company. A fight night consists of several bouts where two players are pitched against each another.
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The time limits in most professional fights being limited to 3 to 5 minutes but, a bout can even end in a minute, depending on the ability of a fighter to take down his opponent. Back in 2006, Kumar says it was a struggle to get MMA fighters in the city but now the situation has changed.

"In the beginning, I would get people mostly from rural areas who were national champions in a particular form of martial art. I would bring them to the city and train them in other forms of martial arts. After they were cross-trained, they were allowed to participate in fight nights. After a few fight nights there has been a lot of interest generated in MMA.

People, who are not necessarily into any form of martial arts, have also expressed their interest in MMA," said Kumar, who also has a law degree. With the first fight night, which was held in 2009, Kumar holds fight nights every five months. "Funds are hard to come by.

So, it is mainly through word of mouth, SMS, social networking sites, through which people get to know about the event." The next fight night has been planned in October and Kumar says that he is actively seeking sponsors for the event.

"In the beginning, I paid out of my own pocket to organise the event as well as to pay the fighters. But with the popularity of MMA, we are getting good response from various sponsors."

Dangers
Kumar agrees that sometimes youngsters, who approach him do not realise the risks associated with the sport. The situation can get out of control too. "I remember an incident where there was a fighter, who had an unbeaten record and another fighter challenged him.

So, it was a dare. One of the fighters held him tightly round his neck. Inspite of the referee's intervention, this player refused to loosen his grip. Hence, he was disqualified."
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In another incident, said Kumar, "During one of the bouts, a guy was knocked down and there was absolute silence.


Prashant Kumar organises fight
nights in Mumbai. PIC/PRADEEP DHIVAR

In fact, a girl from the spectators started crying. But as the fights progressed, the crowd went berserk. Some of them were screaming break his neck; hit him. The crowd goes crazy when the fights are on. But it is a form of sport."

Following
In Mumbai, the fight nights have an entry fee of Rs 500 each and are held at Famous Studios in Mahalaxmi. Often portrayed as brutal, fight nights continue to have a huge fan following. "We had approximate 500 people attending the fight nights and the crowd was very up market.
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The spectators included people from the ad world, corporate sector, college students, etcetera." The reason, as Anuj Didwania, a MMA enthusiast puts it, "All of us love gore in some form or the other."
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Didwania, a businessman from Peddar Road, too loves to fight and has been to all the previous fight nights in the city. "I found the fights in Mumbai bit amateurish. The fighters in Mumbai were mainly kickboxers but not MMA experts. So there is a long way to go," said Didwania.
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Others, who attended the previous fight nights, loved the "underground feel" attached to the events. Disha Diwan (22), a post graduate history student, who had attended the last fight night in February 2011, is so fascinated that she has decided to learn MMA and eventually take part in fights.
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"I saw two women fighters in the ring. That is what encouraged me to seriously think about MMA. It can be used for self-defence too. Inspite of all the blood and gore, I was fascinated by the fights. Honestly, I get a kick by watching such fights.

It is a total adrenaline rush," said Diwan from Bandra (w). Nishant Mitra, another MMA enthusiast feels that MMA is all about, "raw fighting which appeals to the spectators."

With the popularity of MMA in Mumbai, training centres and workshops are mushrooming in the city. "Many of these centres claim to impart training in MMA without having proper trainers. One should be wary of such training centres," said Kumar.

Championship
The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) promotion company and the largest in the world. It hosts most of the top-ranked fighters and produces numerous events worldwide.

Fatalities
The first was the death of Sam Vasquez in 2007. Vasquez collapsed shortly after being knocked out in a fight at Texas.

Vasquez had two separate surgeries and suffered a devastating stroke and never regained consciousness.
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In 2010, Michael Kirkham was knocked out and never regained consciousness. He was pronounced dead two days later.