When the gate of the cage was swung open to the fighters of the first edition of cage fighting championship in the city, little did the Shillong audience know that it would be an experience of a lifetime. By the end of the night, the applause turned into roars and standing ovations as the Shillong Cage Fighting Championship (SCFC), held on December 7, proved to be one of the best MMA events nationwide.
SCFC is a tournament that has been long in the making and one major factor marks it as unique — the idea behind the tournament to respect and honour fighters.
This tournament also serves the purpose of providing a national platform to local MMA fighters. To achieve this, the Meghalaya Mixed Martial Arts Association worked together with Happy Redrooster MMA, bringing in athletes from all over the nation as well as from Australia.
Prior to this, all MMA fighters of the state had to travel to various parts of India to compete at any national level tournament that could be considered noteworthy.
“In our context, travelling anywhere for a fight is never easy because the fighters we work with have to bear all costs and then pay an entrance fee just to be able to compete. Fighters come from various economic slabs, different social strata and for some it can be quite a burden to manage all these payments, train hard six days a week and then fight for nothing but bragging rights,” says Reuben LC Lulam, co-owner of Happy Redrooster MMA and also one of the four coaches at the institute.
Headlining as main event at the SCFC was Johny Nongrum of Happy Redrooster MMA/NJK MMA who ended his bout against Jagjeet Singh of 4C, Mumbai, with a vicious knockout. Before successfully transitioning to MMA, Nongrum was part of the National Boxing Team for four years. A major accident put a definitive halt to his boxing career but with a gradual recovery, Nongrum has been reinventing himself, taking his national-level boxing skills to the MMA fight cage with great success.
To compliment the local fighter one can borrow words from the great Muhammad Ali and say “he made every moment count”.
Singh is a national-level wrestler whose grappling skills coupled with his MMA experience has taken him to one successful MMA fight after another. On any day, Nongrum Vs Singh is a match to look out for because it pitches two national-level fighters with varying backgrounds against each other, both of whom have taken their primary skills into a new arena and, in the process, have developed and redefined themselves as complete combat athletes.
Lachlan Conway of Australia and Anthony Syiem of Ground and Pound MMA, Nongpoh, met in a Super-Fight with Conway ending the bout with a straight-ankle-lock victory. Conway is now the first title holder of the Super-Fight division in the SCFC.
Conway has had over 400 fights and has won many international titles while Syiem is a young, up-and-coming MMA fighter whose more famous victories include wins at the All India Mixed Martial Arts Nationals and an unbeaten record in the Reebok Fight Nights.
Of the eight women who took part, two featured in the co-main event — Laishram Surbala Devi of Manipur (Kangleipak MMA) and Lalvenhimi of Mizoram (Team SPES). Devi is a national kickboxing champion while Lalvenhimi is well known for her several victories in the All India Mixed Martial Arts Nationals. Lalvenhimi took home the win in a display of sharp technical prowess and a brilliant fight-IQ.
Team Happy Redrooster MMA, Shillong, led by coaches Isaiah Kharmawphlang, Lulam, Frankystar Momin and Remy Kharshandi fielded six fighters — Echwamida-o Phawa, Ronald Khyriem, Bennyson Rangat, Balajied Ryntathiang, Reform Marwein and headliner Johny Nongrum. The team had a clean sweep with all six fighters emerging victorious.
Ground and Pound MMA, Nongpoh, led by Coach Kores Marwein, himself a veteran of more than 20 Muay Thai and MMA fights, brought in four fighters, winning two of the four bouts they fought.
During the proceedings, officials present at SCFC chose the platform to announce the reformation of the North East Mixed Martial Arts Association, with Ibalawan Rumnong of Laimer, Shillong, as president.
As such, every fighter, without exception, was paid a fighter’s fee. “We have competed in tournaments ourselves and we currently train with fighters every day. We know well what they have to go through, how hard they have to work, the degree of discipline they put themselves through… they could easily go to pubs, party, drink and smoke their lives away. Yet they show up every day, train to better themselves and represent their teams and make a mark in the Indian MMA scene. This is true of all fighters nationwide… We respect them too much for that. That is why each fighter was brought in, hosted, fed and paid fight fees; without them all we have is an empty cage,” says Isaiah of Happy Redrooster MMA while thanking the sponsors.
Interestingly, “a particular group of individuals who wish to remain anonymous” and support the sport is also on the list of sponsors.
The long-term goal of the Shillong Cage Fighting Championship is to be able to host this tournament quarterly.
However, the first steps of many time-honoured affairs have been humble and small; SCFC too begins small and the organisers hope to build it in quality and frequency, creating a lasting national platform for MMA athletes of the North East.
With the close of its first edition, the cage fighting championship is now a landmark in Indian MMA and if one were to judge by this first event, then the future seems bright for both fighters and fight fans, and thus, ultimately, for the sport.
~ Contributed by Donnisha Basaiawmoit