Did you know that mixed martial arts, a complete combat sport that incorporates techniques from a certain number of different martial arts, regularly increases in India? In fact, India has a sports director of sports – MMA India, as well as regional associations. There was also an Open MMA championship organized by the MMA Association of Maharashtra in September of last year, with a private sponsor. Cities like Delhi, Bengaluru and Mumbai have become large MMA training centers.
Most MMA athletes target a place in the ultimate combat championship or the UFC. The UFC was launched in 1993 as a professional MMA platform. He then revolutionized the mixed martial arts industry and the overall struggle and today, according to certain measures, is the largest supplier of world map events.
Over the years, Indian MMA fighters like Bharat Kandare, Anshul Jubli and Puja Tomar have registered with the UFC.
Although the popularity of the UFC is the highest in the United States, other regions such as Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany and Australia are not far behind.
So what does it really need to become a successful MMA fighter? Can someone who is not naturally endowed with a great physique also do it in the world of MMA and what are the things that are absolutely imperative for an athlete to be a successful mixed martial artist?
The British mixed martial artist Michael “Venom”, who is a professional athlete of MMA since 2012 and has registered with the UFC last year, spoke exclusively with First post To provide answers to these questions and more and to help us understand how the world of MMA works.
Michael, who won a silver medal in the 2010 world combat matches in Beijing and has a global record for MMA of 22-3, with 13 victories via technical punches, Will against Sharaputdin Magomedov, from Russia , during his next UFC check on February 1.
Extracts …
Firstpost: your combat style is often called explosives and credit for this is given to your style of kickboxing freestyle and also to the fact that you hold a black belt at kung fu – in your mind how do you gather these different styles of arts martials to form your own unique style?
Michael page “Venom”: It comes from a place called Freestyle Kickboxing or Karate Sports. It is a style that already exists and I add my turn, my creativity on it. The coaches taught me to make it sure and effective in MMA.
FP: Your parents have both been Kung Fu practitioners, you have brothers and sisters who are Kick-Box champions. Tell us what your childhood looked like, growing up in this martial arts environment
Deputy: Martial arts were an excellent anchor to have that keeps me on the right road, because it is not only the punch and the kicks you learn, but also discipline, concentration, perseverance, so much different things. In addition, the social aspects of things you learn from martial arts. And obviously, having your family to do the same thing has helped massively. So, for me, it kept me on the right path. I was not always raised in the best fields and it helped me say no to my friends who did the bad things and kept me focused on good things.
FP: How difficult is it, on the whole, in terms of hard work and dedication to become an MMA athlete, since you have to master different martial arts, styles, techniques, etc.?
Deputy: Yes, it’s very difficult. I always tell people you have to love this sport. Don’t do it for glory, don’t do it for money, you have to love it, because it is very difficult. The only way you will get to the top is a lot of sacrifices and a lot of pain unfortunately, because you (you must) put your body through a washing machine for injuries and loads of (others). And there again, because of dedication, you must miss a lot of social things that you may want to attend. It can sometimes be quite alone, so you have to love sport and be passionate about sport to really do it.
FP: Many people have this erroneous perception according to which martial arts are all about physicality and energy expenditure. The fact that there is a very large meditative side is not a well -known fact – that one of the key elements of martial arts is to relax the mind and form it more and more. Your point of view on this subject….
Deputy: Yes, it’s massively important, I think. Everything is Yin and Yang. You can’t have one thing without the other. This is why there are many athletes who are very good and exceptional in the gymnasium, but they go on stage, their mind has difficulty allowing them to occur in the same way as in the gymnasium. So you have to learn to train your mind too and also concentrate your mind, as much as your body training.
FP: Your next fight is February 1 against Sharaputdin Magomedov, from Russia, whose main skill in martial art is in Muay Thai. How do you approach this fight?
Deputy: My style is very annoying. Although I have a specific style, it is very unique, which means that it will be difficult for him to understand or have people against whom to train or learn to train (to fight) Against me, so for me, it is and be the best (version of) me, being effective, being fast, being precise, then the result will come.
FP: As a person who has been an MMA professional athlete since 2012, if you had to list three things that are absolutely essential for someone to succeed in MMA, what would he be?
Deputy: First of all, physical form. I saw people who are super talented, but they are not in good shape to follow a few others. Everyone is hard in this sport, so it is not a question of training your tenacity, everyone is hard, it is a question of being in good shape. More than the other person, so the cardio is king – it is something we like to say in our gymnasium and we work really hard to be as fit as possible. It is a technical element.
Then really learning the importance of movements. Sometimes the smallest of things, especially in the grappling area, the smallest details can make such a big difference during a fight. And then as we talked earlier – the state of mind. Make sure you have the right mentality. That you do not do it for bad reasons, you are in there, you are concentrated, you remain concentrated from the start to the end of this fight. These are the three things that are the most important.
FP: Can an athlete who does not have a naturally strong physique make him an MMA athlete, if he puts in hard sites?
Deputy: Everyone has the capacity. If you want to do it and you can find the right people to teach you, ready to do the effort, find the right team that can support you, then 100% you can do it. Nobody begins as very strong. Sometimes when I watch some of my old videos of myself and see how thin at the time I was at the time and how thin at the time. I came from the world of kickboxing, where the style was very different, I did not need to be tall and strong (there). But now you see that my body has developed over the years, because of all the work I have devoted, all you have to do is start. If you really like it and you really want to do it, all you have to do is start. And then the trip starts from there.
FP: What is the size of the MMA in the United Kingdom at the moment and to what extent have you seen the following fan and the change of culture of the MMA / Develop in the United Kingdom in the last decade?
Deputy: It grows massively. When I started, MMA is growing, but it was still not something that people, especially in this country – they were very pro -boxing, but not necessarily for MMA. The tastes of Ronda Rousey (mixed American martial artist) attracted great attention to him. The tastes of Conor McGregor (Mixed Irish Martial Artist) were more careful. And then we had all our champions like Michael Bisping (British mixed martial artist) who made him all the more credible for fans in the United Kingdom.
And then there were guys like me also carrying the flag and showing people that it is a path that they can make (walk) and that it is a pleasant path. So there have been a lot of people and (fans) when I started so far. This goes from force to force in the United Kingdom. They love it here (in the United Kingdom) now.
FP: Which was the most difficult fight in your UFC career, so far and why?
Deputy: The most difficult fight was definitely my last fight (against Ian Machado Garry from Ireland). It was frustrating, I did not make the right decisions during the fight, so it was more frustrating (than anything), it was not difficult, but it was just mentally frustrating, because I was not taking Not the right decisions, so the fight did not go in my way. But I still believe that I have not had difficult fights, so we will see.
Look at UFC Fight Night – Adesanya vs Imavov on February 1, 2025 at 10:30 p.m. Ist live on the Sony Sports Network.
