MMA in India

[sanjuro_ronin]

I must admit this is a curious endeavor, I don't see this much as a cultural fit...India a country not known for its athleticism....or violent sports really, although they love themselves some religious violence. I think India finally won its first olympic medal in decades during that last summer games.

I think India would be a natural ally of the USA, I'm not sure why we haven't embraced them more to counter balance China's rising power.

Lets try to get this back to the original issue, shall we?
IN regards to MMA and combat sports the fact is that India has a long and very distinguished history in "combat sports" in particular wrestling.
Regardless of their involvement at the international sport competitive level, their history is full of martial arts history.

[GeneChing]

And like I said at the beginning of this thread, Dana White said "India was his other big target market alongside China." You don't need to be a genius in world economics to understand why.

'Ultimate Fighter' expected to hit Pacific Rim, India soon
By MMAjunkie.com
Updated 3/1/2012 6:54 PM

With the first live season of The Ultimate Fighter kicking off next week in the United States and the first international edition of the Ultimate Fighting Championship's reality series currently in production in Brazil, the focus now turns to new locales.

On deck are Australia, India and the Philippines, said Dana White, president of UFC parent Zuffa.

"They're up next week," White said Thursday at a UFC on FX 2 press conference in Sydney. "We just need to finalize the (broadcast) deals."

TUF 15 is the first season of the seven-year-old series to air on UFC's new cable partner, FX, following a long and fruitful run on Spike TV. Fuel TV officials have confirmed TUF: Brazil will air on the Fox-owned cable station, though details haven't been finalized.

The show airs locally on Globo, which has quickly become a destination for UFC in Brazil.

That country has become an hotbed for mixed martial arts, and two recent pay-per-view events in Rio de Janeiro laid the ground work for a bigger UFC presence. But after that, the attention turns to other new countries.

Australia, for example, hosts its third event in two years with this weekend's UFC on FX 2 show. With a quickly growing regional scene, more and more talent is coming out of the country. TUF: Australia would identify some of the best and open a door to competing in the UFC along the likes of Australians of James Te Huna, Kyle Noke and George Sotiropoulos.

The same goes for India and the Philippines, which have never hosted a UFC show but long been on the organization's radar. Currently, no events are scheduled for either country, but a TUF season could set the groundwork.

[Frost]

for interest ancient and modern wrestling in india they did quite well in the last commonwealth games medaling in most weight catagories
http://vimeo.com/11128479

[Vajramusti]

for interest ancient and modern wrestling in india they did quite well in the last commonwealth games medaling in most weight catagories
http://vimeo.com/11128479

---------------------------------------------

yes they did.

joy

[Hebrew Hammer]

And like I said at the beginning of this thread, Dana White said "India was his other big target market alongside China." You don't need to be a genius in world economics to understand why.

This is yet to be seen...my guess is that it won't be as successful here...as others have stated, India has tons of potential in a multitude of areas and has not realized them.

[Syn7]

This is yet to be seen...my guess is that it won't be as successful here...as others have stated, India has tons of potential in a multitude of areas and has not realized them.

Where is "here"? You mean India? I think they have already accomplished a ton in health and fitness in general and have a long history of martial arts and combat simulation type games.

I think time will prove you wrong. MMA will sweep across the Asias and eventually every country in the world that can afford it will have it. It's such a universal concept that any culture can adapt. Unlike baseball, basketball etc, Punching someone in the face then suplexing their ass is as international as it gets. It taps into one the very few root desires in human beings which also happens to be the most repressed(for obvious reasons) thus creating a huge market for organized carnage of any manner really. But with MMA you have that factor AND the athletic skill angle and it's a good fit in that every nation can adapt their TMA to work with MMA rules. A small group of talent will maintain it's credibility while it's financed by "the mobs" dark side.

A few years from now the MMA world in India will be exponentially larger and if we still post here somebody can drag this one out and show you. Other than that there isn't much more to say about it. I think it will be successful in India and even more successful in china and the other smaller south eastern Asian nations. It's already pretty big in Thailand coz MMA cats go there to train all the time. They have tons of MMA schools there now. Unless some major global suppression occurs, MMA will continue to explode giving fans all the drama and chaos their little minds crave and it will continue to be a source of interest for those who really understand it and appreciate it for what it is, the true torch bearers. That core is strong and talented and I can't see them getting shut down anywhere where people are considered "free" and there is some sense of a fair economy. I do not expect MMA to blow up in N Korea the way it is and will continue to grow in S Korea, for obvious reasons. Indians have a decent say in their lives compared to a lot of the areas around them and they want MMA and they will have MMA. Mark my words. Call me out on it down the road.

[GeneChing]

If you don't know Mary, she won bronze in London (flyweight). She has a stellar boxing record.
Here's her website.

Million dollar Mary
Mary Kom who made India proud at the London Olympics this year, has recently been chosen as the brand ambassador of a mixed martial arts initiative.
Mumbai
Asira Tarannum

Enjoying her new found celebrity status, Mary Kom spoke to CS about her favourite action hero, her twins and why she won’t foray into Bollywood:

Height of glory
I feel very happy and proud of myself. After winning the medal, I am so bored of answering the same questions again and again. Yes, I feel very nice and honoured to know that I could do this much for my country. Life has not changed much after the Olympics. The only difference is that I hear or read my name more often. At every event, people chant Mary Kom, Mary Kom and that feels great. At the same time, my responsibilities have increased though.
WHO: Mary Kom
WHAT: Talking about life after Olympics
PIC/ Neha Parekh



Fists of fury
I won’t encourage my twins to take up boxing. I will do so only if they themselves are totally interested in doing so. Otherwise, I will want them to chose a safe sport, where they are not beaten black and blue. Mary Kom who made India proud at the London Olympics this year, has recently been chosen as the brand ambassador of a mixed martial arts initiative. Enjoying her new found celebrity status, Mary Kom spoke to CS about her favourite action hero, her twins and why she won’t foray into Bollywood:


Height of glory I feel very happy and proud of myself. After winning the medal, I am so bored of answering the same questions again and again. Yes, I feel very nice and honoured to know that I could do this much for my country. Life has not changed much after the Olympics. The only difference is that I hear or read my name more often. At every event, people chant Mary Kom, Mary Kom and that feels great. At the same time, my responsibilities have increased though.

Fists of fury I won’t encourage my twins to take up boxing. I will do so only if they themselves are totally interested in doing so. Otherwise, I will want them to chose a safe sport, where they are not beaten black and blue.

Women power
I have no message for the women of our country. I hope that by now they know who Mary Kom is, and what she did. I think the one thing they can perhaps emulate is my passion to do something for my country. Maar khaney ka nahi, sabko maarney ka!

Box into Bollywood
Suniel Shetty is my favourite action hero, and I was completely starstruck when I met him at a boxing event. I took so many pictures of him with me. No, I have no plans of entering into Bollywood. I can’t act, at all!

The mommy in Mary
I worked hard and reached where I am today. I struggled a lot. I have to look after my family and kids but they are very supportive. In the midst of intense practice sessions, I have to take out time to be a mother. They find it amusing to see cameras around me, and my pictures in the newspapers. My twins are quite naughty (laughs out loud).

Looking at tomorrow
I will continue to pursue professional boxing. In fact, I am about to open my own boxing academy. I hope I can produce a few more Mary Koms for India (laughs). I want to encourage youngsters, especially women to take up boxing. Anything that empowers women and makes them independent is good.

[GeneChing]

If you don't know about the Delhi gang-rape, well, heed world news a little more; it's been all over the news. It's already come up on our Bollywood Kung-Fu!! thread.

Mary Kom asks women to learn martial arts to defend themselves
Jan 5, 2013

Darjeeling: Women should take up martial arts to defend themselves from incidents such as the Delhi gangrape, Olympic bronze medalist boxer M C Mary Kom has said and given the example of a rickshaw driver whom she taught a lesson for making lewd remarks at her.

“Martial arts should not be taken up only as a sport. I urge all women to take up martial arts so that they can defend themselves to some extent,” Mary said.


“If I can box why can’t you all? I urge women of this region to take up the sport,” she said. Mary said “I had beaten up a rickshawala sometime ago. When he started using filthy language, I lost my cool,” she, said, but did not specify when and where the incident took place. Mary was speaking at the Darjeeling Tea and Tourism Festival here on Thursday.

Mary’s husband K Kom, who was present, said “It doesn’t feel nice to see my wife getting beaten up. But after so many years of boxing, we are getting used to the fact that she is involved in a sport.”

Here's another political endorsement of martial arts for women in India, just for reference.

Bihar CM in favour of martial arts training for girls
Last Updated: Saturday, January 05, 2013, 21:30

Patna: Concerned over surge in cases of atrocities against women in the country, including the recent brutal gang-rape of paramedic student in Delhi, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Saturday said that martial arts for self-defence would be taught to girls in all the schools in Bihar.

"Martial art training will be provided to girls in all the schools and colleges to help them take on anti-socials," the CM said amid applause from the Dalai Lama and delegates from 17 countries attending a three-day-long International Buddhist Sangha conference here.

Besides ahimsa and peace, Buddhism contributed significantly by developing martial art for self-defence of monks during course of their journey world over for propagating teachings of Lord Buddha, he added.

Kumar said that after the launch of his ambitious cycle-scheme for school girls in 2007, there were apprehensions about the vulnerability of these girls while travelling alone. Following which, the state government decided to provide them training in self defence through martial arts.

The CM noted that more than one lakh school girls have already acquired martial arts training till now, and it will be further extended to all schools in the state, marking an important step toward empowerment of women.

Buddhism which originated from Bihar took great initiatives for empowerment of women, Kumar said, adding that Lord Buddha had permitted women becoming sanyasin at sangha at Vaishali, the world's first republic.

[Vajramusti]

Neither Savy savage nor Hebrew Hammer know much about Indian martial arts!!
I pass.

[GeneChing]

How come U.S. MMA doesn't have actress brand ambassadors?

Jacqueline Fernandez Joins Mixed Martial Arts League
January 27, 2017 Author: Gaurav Shingala



Actress Jacqueline Fernandez has been announced as the brand ambassador of Goa Pirates for the Super Fight League (SFL), a mixed martial arts (MMA) league.

Jacqueline along with her brothers, Ryan and Warren, has also become the new co-owner of the team.

The league, which began on January 20, already has celebrities like Ajay Devgn, Arjun Rampal, Salim and Sulaiman, Tiger Shroff and Randeep Hooda co-owning Mumbai Maniacs, Delhi Heroes, UP Nawabs, Bengaluru Tigers and Haryana Sultans teams respectively.

“It is with great pride that I welcome Jacqueline to the Super Fight League. I have always believed Indian MMA needs an innovative and experimental format to bring the fans to the stadiums and in front of television,” Bill Dosanjh, SFL’s CEO and Principal Founder, said in a statement.

Jacqueline says she is happy to “be able to support so many things in this one opportunity”

“There’s the family aspect, this thrilling team sport as well as the woman competing that demonstrates woman empowerment. I really admire the discipline it takes to compete and the courage and confidence it inspires in others,” she added.

IANS