Specializing in Muay Thai, Somesh Kamra’s knowledge of hand to hand combat is unrivalled. With his close association with UFC India, his insights about the sport are featured on Sony Sports Network’s The Ultimate Guide to UFC and Pit Stop.
In an exclusive interview with SPOGO, he discussed the growth of combat sports in the country, the challenges faced by Indian athletes, the potential and talent of fighters as well as the growing popularity of UFC amongst women.
What is your view on the potential of India as a market for combat sports?
India has a massive scope for combat sports. We are known as a peace-loving nation, but look at the history of India. It's filled with violence and war. India has a rich culture in combat warfare, an art that is instilled in most of us. The cultural diversity of the country only helps us mentally and physically to adapt to the world of combat. India also is home to some of the oldest martial arts in the world such as Kalarippayattu. In the modern times, with evolution and global digitization, India has an opportunity to showcase their skills to the world.
What are the challenges faced by Indian combat sports athletes? How can they overcome these challenges?
I personally believe the Indian athletes have all the facilities to showcase their skills to the world and prove a point. But bureaucracy and sympathy has somehow been instilled into us. At this point in time, the Indian fighters have absolutely everything to make it to the global stage. Look what we did with Bharat Kandare, who became the first Indian to fight in the UFC. A bunch of other fighters from our stable fight in One, Brave etc. In fact, there are so many promotions right now for amateurs and professionals in India to get a footing at before setting their eyes on the larger stage.
Combat sports, especially Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) is growing in India, how can the sport gain popularity in a cricket crazy country like India?
We need to understand that cricket has been played and practiced in India for over 100 years now. MMA comparatively is a very new sport and has only picked up steam in the last 10 years. However, statistically, it is the fastest growing sport in the world. According to BARC, 100 million Indians viewed the UFC in 2019 alone. That’s a massive jump from the previous years. Infact, MMA as a sport has overtaken racing and tennis in India. It shows the potential this sport has for a country as diverse as India. There’s no touching cricket, but the No. 2 is up for grabs.
India has many talented MMA fighters such as Abhay Singh Shirole, Abhijeet Petkar, Abhijit Das, Abhilash Raut to name a few. What is the potential that you see in India in terms of the caliber of fighters it can produce?
Let's speak of the recent crop – Ritu Phogat, Bharat Kandare, Sumeet Khade are all great fighters contracted in various top promotions. I feel we are going to see an Indian champion within 3 years in a foreign promotion.
What sort of development is required for Indian combat sports athletes to compete and succeed at the International stage?
A good gym. A good team. Fighters' loyalty. These are the 3 things needed to get any fighter to the top. We have it all in India. Luckily, we also have a good amateur sector coming up. That’s the basics to groom a future champion from this country.
Women contribute a sizable 44% of the UFC audience. What makes combat sports such a gender agnostic sport?
Fighting is in our DNA. We cannot remove the fact that we were animals many years back, but the primitive instinct of fighting can never be taken out of us. It’s a well known fact, people love to watch fights. It's inbuilt. I'm not surprised that 44% of the audience that watch the UFC are women. At my gym – Superhuman Gym, we have plenty of women that come to train in boxing and jiu-jitsu.
