Hyderabad: India's biggest mixed martial arts competition Matrix Fight Night gripped Hyderabad on Sunday as the 7th edition of the competition was held at the Taj Falaknuma Palace in Hyderabad on Friday. The event, which was sanctioned by the All India Mixed Martial Arts Association (AIMMAA) India’s Largest and Oldest Governing body for Mixed Martial Arts in India, and Global Authority for Mixed Martial Arts Federations (GAMMAF), was hosted by the Indian actor/television host Salil Acharya.
The "Afghan Lion" Abdul Aziz Badakhshi won in the main event of the night, defeating Brazil's Marcelo Guarilha in the Featherweight category. With Afghanistan fans packing the stands, there was an almost home-crowd feel for the Afghanistan fighter.
The first round saw Abdul going for heavy punches, which Marcelo tackled with grappling and submission attempts. Both fighters started quick movements in the second round as Marcelo tried to go for a sudden takedown, but missed and Abdul landed in a few punches.
Abdul used his raw power to slam Marcelo on the ground and then ended the fight with heavy blows, winning the bout via TKO in the 2nd round.
While interacting with ETV Bharat Badakhshi said, "People from my country have come to see me. I am very happy about the win. At least with this win, I brought some happiness to the people back in my country, who have faced great hardships. I am thankful to everyone who has supported me in my journey. Girls are not able to fight in Afghanistan, I believe that if everyone can do everything in Afghanistan, girls can also fight."
When he was asked about his compassion towards the opposition player, Badakhshi smiled and said, "I enjoy thrashing a fighter in the cage. I enjoy it when blood comes out of his mouth."
In the co-main event, the decider in the trilogy between Sumit Khade and Dhruv Chaudhary in the Lightweight category, the Uttar Pradesh fighter took control from the get-go. Dhruv took down Sumit and started pounding him with non-stop punches and elbow strikes, leaving no choice for the referee to end the fight. Dhruv 'Psycho' Chaudhary was declared the winner via TKO, as he clinched the bout in just 3 minutes 50 seconds.
Speaking on his big win, Dhruv said, There are many better fighters in the world than Conor McGregor. Even in his weight category, you will find 100 more fighters, but he talks too much. People know him because of his nonsense while Indian fighters don't know how to get indulge in such things and that is why they are not known, otherwise there is a lot of talent in India too."
On reason behind choosing MMA, the lightweight MFN champion said, "I wanted to do something different, I didn't want to be a part of sheep, so I chose this sport."
Mumbai's flyweight fighter Arshiyan said after winning that he is an emotional fighter and can't see blood. But still, he is in this profession because he enjoys it.
Apart from this, remembering 'The Money Fight', the most expensive fight in history, Arshiyan said, "I would like to be a part of 'The Money Fight' in the future. Although, I have not levelled that much now, but will definitely happen in the future." "
In other fights on the main card, Angad Bisht defeated Chungreng Koreng via an anonymous decision from the judges after a cagey fight. Bihar's only professional mixed-martial-arts athlete Shyamanand demolished his Uttarakhand opponent Abhishek Negi, leaving him bruised and bloodied to pick a win via TKO in the Featherweight category.
'The Cobra Queen' Jojo Rajkumari left the crowd stunned after she defeated her Strawweight category opponent Ishika Thithe via submission with an armbar in just 1 minute 37 seconds of the first round. Coorg fighter Clinton D' Cruz went past his Bantamweight category opponent Sahil Rana with an impressive win via judges’ verdict.
The fights in the Undercard saw two technical knockouts with the 'non-musical' Bon Jovi dominating Gajendra 'Sniper' Rawat in the Bantamweight category to pick up a big win, while Arshiyan Memon winning his debut professional bout against Bishwamitra Mayanglambam in the Flyweight category. Mandeep Prajapati defeated hometown hero Karan Singh via a split verdict.
Alan Fenandes, Director Operations, said that MFN has brought professionalism back to combat sports. "It was a fantastic night. The beauty about MFN is that you may lose once, twice, or thrice. But even if you lose, we will continue to give the fighters this platform to all the fighters till they go on to win here. What we have done with MFN is bring professionalism back to fighting. These fighters all know each other, train with each other. And what happens in the cage, remains in the cage," he said.
An elated Ayesha Shroff added, “MFN 7 exceeded expectations in every way. This has been the best MFN so far. In my opinion, we have turned a page. Now it's on to even bigger and better things.”
In another question, when she was asked whom she will be supporting if a fight will happen between Tiger Shroff and Afghan fighter Badakhshi, she said, "I will make sure that fight doesn't happen".
Read : Female Afghan boxer forced to leave Afghanistan amid Taliban death threats
