Namma City is India's new hub of professional fighting

Vasudha Zora NT

Bengaluru: The exponential growth of mixed martialarth as taken the sporting ring by storm in India, with international and national representatives from committed and focused athletes shaping the movement.

Fighters Shyam Anand and Clinton D’ Cruz have taken professional MMA fighting to another extreme and are inspiring the youth of Bangalore. The two represented the country in Matrix Fight Night 10 which was held in Dubai and came out with flying colours.

Both Shyam Anand and Clinton D’ Cruz were immensely inf luenced by WW E when they were kids. Now they are busy creating and nurturing a nursery of sporting talent in the field, in India. Indian Combat Sports Academy established in 2011 has been producing stalwarts in kickboxing like Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, and MMA under the leadership of Jitesh Banjan.

“As a kid, I used to wonder about how to get into WWE. So, I started off with street fighting. I had a good idea of MMA. I fought in the kickboxing championship. By the time I was 10 years old, I had started my regular training. In 2015, I moved to Bangalore and joined ICSA,” said a smiling Shyam Anand who hails from a village in Bihar. On November 18 last year, in a fight with Richard Alexander Mearns from England in Dubai, Shyam Anand knocked down his opponent in the second round and came victorious.

Shyam Anand is a twotime national champion in kickboxing and a nationallevel player in Wushu and Jai Jujitsu in the category of Jai Ju-Jitsu. All these achievements were besides his professional career in MMA. Clinton D Cruz has played five professional matches and stands undefeated, making his opponents crawl with fear.

He was selected for Asian Games for Jai Ji Jitsu and is a three-time national-level jiu-jitsu fighter alongside two times national gold medalist in the sport of Kickboxing. Cruz defeated his opponent Musa Raish from Gujarat in a matter of 1.20 minutes and was crowned the winner in the match in MFN 10 2022 held in Dubai.

“I am under contract with the Matrix fight club and currently focusing on winning my next fight. I like to challenge myself at many levels which perfectly align with the sport I am into and maybe that’s why it will always be a part of me and I will keep going back to it,” he said. Speaking about their preparations in this highly demanding sports, Shyam Anand and Clinton D’ Cruz say that they have been more conscious about their diet and exercise in recent years.

They also decided to stay away from substances that affect their focus. The two have many plans for putting themselves on the map next to take on the undefeated fighters. The feeling of the sport making them powerful and invincible is being felt by both the Indian fighters.

The future of professional MMA in India is in strong hands. The best thing to happen to this sport is that both the Indian fighters are in the same academy they are training in. The two will be representing India in Dubai next year for the next season of MFN. It seems a great future awaits them both and the professional fighting in India.