Welcome to India’s very own fight night

Published March 15, 2012
Sangram Bhakre (C), a 21-year-old mixed martial arts fighter, waits backstage before a bout at a fight night in Mumbai. — Reuters Photo
Sangram Bhakre (C), a 21-year-old mixed martial arts fighter, waits backstage before a bout at a fight night in Mumbai. — Reuters Photo
A ring girl displays a placard before the start of a bout at a fight night in Mumbai. — Reuters Photo
A ring girl displays a placard before the start of a bout at a fight night in Mumbai. — Reuters Photo
Sangram Bhakre (R), a 21-year-old mixed martial arts fighter, fights during a bout at a fight night in Mumbai. — Reuters Photo
Sangram Bhakre (R), a 21-year-old mixed martial arts fighter, fights during a bout at a fight night in Mumbai. — Reuters Photo
Members of the audience react as they watch a mixed martial arts bout at a fight night in Mumbai. — Reuters Photo
Members of the audience react as they watch a mixed martial arts bout at a fight night in Mumbai. — Reuters Photo
Sangram Bhakre (L), a 21-year-old mixed martial arts fighter, gestures after winning a bout at a fight night in Mumbai. — Reuters Photo
Sangram Bhakre (L), a 21-year-old mixed martial arts fighter, gestures after winning a bout at a fight night in Mumbai. — Reuters Photo
Sangram Bhakre, a 21-year-old mixed martial arts fighter, speaks to his coach on a mobile phone after winning a bout at a fight night in Mumbai. — Reuters Photo
Sangram Bhakre, a 21-year-old mixed martial arts fighter, speaks to his coach on a mobile phone after winning a bout at a fight night in Mumbai. — Reuters Photo
Gaurav Pandey, a 20-year-old mixed martial arts fighter, is treated by a doctor during a bout at a fight night in Mumbai. — Reuters Photo
Gaurav Pandey, a 20-year-old mixed martial arts fighter, is treated by a doctor during a bout at a fight night in Mumbai. — Reuters Photo
Members of the audience react as they watch a mixed martial arts bout at a fight night in Mumbai. — Reuters Photo
Members of the audience react as they watch a mixed martial arts bout at a fight night in Mumbai. — Reuters Photo
Amjad Khan, a 30-year-old mixed martial arts fighter, rests after a bout at a fight night in Mumbai. — Reuters Photo
Amjad Khan, a 30-year-old mixed martial arts fighter, rests after a bout at a fight night in Mumbai. — Reuters Photo
Amjad Khan, a 30-year-old mixed martial arts fighter, falls down during a bout at a fight night in Mumbai. — Reuters Photo
Amjad Khan, a 30-year-old mixed martial arts fighter, falls down during a bout at a fight night in Mumbai. — Reuters Photo
Members of the audience react as they watch a mixed martial arts bout at a fight night in Mumbai. — Reuters Photo
Members of the audience react as they watch a mixed martial arts bout at a fight night in Mumbai. — Reuters Photo
A woman looks at a mixed martial arts fighter as he walks towards the ring at a fight night in Mumbai. — Reuters Photo
A woman looks at a mixed martial arts fighter as he walks towards the ring at a fight night in Mumbai. — Reuters Photo
Sangram Bhakre (L), a 21-year-old mixed martial arts fighter, practises in the mud at a traditional Indian wrestling centre called Akhaara in Kolhapur, about 400 km (250 miles) south of Mumbai. — Reuters Photo
Sangram Bhakre (L), a 21-year-old mixed martial arts fighter, practises in the mud at a traditional Indian wrestling centre called Akhaara in Kolhapur, about 400 km (250 miles) south of Mumbai. — Reuters Photo
Sangram Bhakre, a 21-year-old mixed martial arts fighter, wraps his hands with bandage before a practice session inside a local club in Kolhapur, about 400 km (250 miles) south of Mumbai. — Reuters Photo
Sangram Bhakre, a 21-year-old mixed martial arts fighter, wraps his hands with bandage before a practice session inside a local club in Kolhapur, about 400 km (250 miles) south of Mumbai. — Reuters Photo
Nitin Gaekwad, a 24-year-old mixed martial arts fighter, attends a practice session at a local club in Kolhapur, about 400 km (250 miles) south of Mumbai. — Reuters Photo
Nitin Gaekwad, a 24-year-old mixed martial arts fighter, attends a practice session at a local club in Kolhapur, about 400 km (250 miles) south of Mumbai. — Reuters Photo

The small wooden door in a film studio complex deep within the heart of Mumbai creaks open to pumping music, a beer-guzzling crowd and two men raining punches and kicks onto each other in the makeshift ring.

Welcome to India’s very own fight night.

First started around three years ago by Full Contact Championship (FCC), a company founded to promote mixed martial arts, fight nights are slowly gaining popularity in India, a nation where people traditionally have had no inclination to pay money to watch somebody be physically beaten in front of them.

But increasing globalisation and years of growing up watching overseas professional wrestling broadcasts, have given younger Indians a taste for seeing the real thing themselves. — Photos by Reuters

To read more on the story, click here.

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