MMA in India: In 2012, Raj Kundra and Sanjay Dutt founded the SFL with the intention of bringing about a revolution in the sports industry in the nation. The Super Fight League gave the next generation of fighters a stage to display their abilities and establish a reputation, sowing the seeds of opportunity and hope.
At last, Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) was about to take off in India. While grappling and boxing, two other contact sports, were still relatively new in the nation, an MMA-focused organisation was viewed as the next big thing in the second most populous country in the world. However, over the last three years, it has turned out to be the complete opposite of what was first thought.
For the unversed, Every sport is unique, with obstacles and levels of difficulty that vary. To succeed or master one requires a great deal of effort, dedication, and sacrifice. In team sports like basketball or football, there is never a simple solution. However, most people are unaware of how challenging mixed martial arts combat can be.
In addition, there are those who think mixed martial arts (MMA) is a less legitimate sport than others. This is untrue because one of the hardest sports in the world is probably mixed martial arts (MMA). Because they don’t know what it takes to become an MMA fighter, most people don’t see things this way.
Mixed martial arts athletes are probably the toughest athletes on the planet. It never ceases to amaze me when they take a serious jab and keep going. In mixed martial arts (MMA), fighters need to be able to take hits in order to stay in the fight. Without it, a fighter will surrender after taking one strike.
Many fighters deliberately take punches to the head and body in an effort to become more resilient. However, there is no evidence in medicine to support this. Moreover, there are no exact methods to improve durability, despite the claims of many experts.
MMA in India:
When Khali travelled to India for a promotional tour many years ago, the nation welcomed him like a hero. The media and press couldn’t get enough of Khali, and Bollywood heavyweights like Shah Rukh Khan and Aamir Khan were keen to spend a few minutes with the giant. A scripted sport like professional wrestling could have such a large fan base, so theoretically millions of Indians should have been drawn to mixed martial arts (MMA).
Regrettably, no international organisation has focused on the Indian market, and the sharp decline in interest in mixed martial arts (MMA) in India can be attributed to one of the Indian MMA organisations that was once considered the forerunner and creator of the sport in the nation.
Even though it’s widely acknowledged that businesses have failed miserably to position themselves as a niche market, the real reason for their failure is startling. One of the MMA organisations was able to lure in a good number of fighters with false promises, just like many other groups that have been successful in deceiving the general public, only to let them down badly in the end. Many fighters were forced to quit the organisation in the middle because they weren’t being paid, and worse, they were being misled.
Indian MMA fighters:
The Indian fighters themselves, however, were arguably the organization’s biggest scapegoats because they were promised respectable pay and other perks. According to reports, some fighters were pressured to continue with the organisation, even though the majority of them hadn’t received any pay in the previous six months.
According to reports, the organisation even declined to provide the fighters with their contracts, thereby rendering them as bonded labour. To ensure that the fighters are stuck and unable to pursue their careers outside of the organisation, the management confiscated their passports.
The appalling condition of the Indian fighters has not changed, despite the fact that the majority of the foreign fighters hired by the organisation had left. Charmaine Tweet, who previously competed against Ronda “Rowdy” Rousey, the current UFC women’s Bantamweight champion, was one of the fighters who encountered difficulties. The owner fired her via email after she demanded the money the company owed her!
Conclusion:
According to reports, even after a few months have passed since their last fight, Indian fighters are still not getting paid! These fighters have no choice but to remain silent and watch as the officials make fun of the sport because they have no other way to make money or participate in competitions. Given these circumstances, it is understandable why the organisation was unable to have any kind of influence in India.
We will be conducting interviews with fighters from the organisation in the next few days who have mustered the guts to challenge the establishment, even if it means risking their careers and their ability to earn a living for the foreseeable future.
It’s imperative that Indian MMA fans band together to overthrow these organisations’ despotism and make sure that the fighters receive the compensation they are due. We have a lot of interesting content from the worlds of mixed martial arts and the UFC, so be sure to check back soon.
So, this was all about MMA in India. Also read, Check the list of 15 footballers who died on the pitch!
