Sports Bulletin

Sports Bulletin ReportQUETTA: President, Pakistan Mixed Martial Arts Federation (PMMAF), Zulfiqar Ali has announced that Pakistani athletes would take part in the World MMA Championship, scheduled to be held from December 6 to 10, 2023 in Bangkok, Thailand.“Asim Khan and Shahzaib also would represent the country in the event. Initially, we had planned to send seven males and as many female athletes to participate in the championship but due to scarcity of funds. We decided to send only four athletes now including Shahzaib, Asim Khan, Dawood Jan, and Abdul Rehman along with team coach Imran Qasim, “he added.

Sports Bulletin ReportNew Delhi (India): Matrix Fight Night (MFN), India's biggest mixed-martial arts promotion, has already garnered massive reputation across the globe since its inception in 2019. Matrix Fight Night 12 which was held at the Noida Indoor Stadium on July 1st featuring MFN's first-ever all-female main event, saw exponential growth from the previous edition.MFN 12 featured Puja Tomar successfully defending her Strawweight Championship belt against Russia's Anastasia Feofanova, winning the intense main event bout via TKO due to corner stoppage after Anatasia broke her forearm. On the same show, 11 other thrilling fights enthralled the 9000-strong Noida crowd at the stadium that came to witness the live action.Moreover, the audience watching the show on Disney+Hotstar from the comfort of their homes, registered a significant increase of nearly 300 percent in watch time.Speaking on the success of the show, MFN co-founder Ms Ayesha Shroff said, "We always believed that India has the right set of audience to consume Mixed-martial arts and we are grateful for the tremendous response from our fans for MFN 12. This is just the beginning, and we are ready to create more magic in our upcoming editions this year."Krishna Shroff added, "The success of MFN 12 is a testament to the fact that our Indian audience are invested in the stories of our fighters, and are equally eager to watch the women fighters take centerstage. We are delighted with the response and we hope the MFN success stories continue in the editions to come."

Over 2,500 global competitors to gather in Riyadh, to showcase skills in 16 martial arts disciplinesSports Bulletin ReportRiyadh (Saudi Arabia): The Riyadh 2023 World Combat Games official tournament is set to kick-off in 90 days (October 20 to 30, 2023) the multi-sport event of mixed martial arts, is the first of its kind to be held in the Middle East.Taking place at the Sports City King Saud University in Riyadh, over 2,500 athletes from more than 80 countries will take part in the World Combat Games which is already gathering strong interest from the international combat sports community.The Riyadh 2023 World Combat Games promises to be a spectacular showcase of skill and breathtaking courage. Fans around the world will be treated to 10 days of fierce competition with athletes demonstrating their prowess across 16 disciplines. The Riyadh 2023 tournament includes Aikido, Arm-wrestling, Boxing, Fencing, Judo, Jujitsu, Karate, Kendo, Kickboxing, Muay Thai, Sambo, Savate, Sumo, Taekwondo, Wrestling, and Wushu.Not only will spectators be able to watch the action across the stadium, fans will be able to mingle and soak up the atmosphere in the Cultural Pavilion and Square between competitions. Keen to encourage sport at grassroots level, young fans will have the opportunity to strike a pose and try their hand, with trainers and competitors from the International Federations located in the exhibition zone.With only 90 days to go until the Championship opens in Riyadh, momentum is gathering as fight fans eagerly await to witness a contest like no other at the 2023 Riyadh World Combat Games.

MMA fighter Angad Bisht to defend Flyweight title against Brazil's Hugo PaivaSports Bulletin ReportNew Delhi (India):-Mixed Martial Art (MMA) fighter Angad Bisht will defend his Flyweight title against Brazil's Hugo Paiva, as the India's biggest mixed-martial arts promotion, Matrix Fight Night, will return to the National Capital Region (NCR) once again with MFN 12 set to take place on July 1st at the Noida Indoor Stadium, Sector 21. It is pertinent to mention here that Bisht defeated Egypt's Mohamed Gamal for the Flyweight title at MFN 10 in November 2022. Also, India's highest-ranked female MMA fighter Puja Tomar will also defend her Strawweight title against Russia's Anastasia Feofanova. MMA fighter, Angad Bisht said:"I am ready for the fight as always. I have trained well over the past few months and retaining the prestigious MFN title has been my goal ever since the match-up was announced. I will give my all once again, but it will be a good fight against Brazil's Hugo Paiva, who is a tremendously skilled fighter as well. But I will have a few tricks up my sleeve." Brazil's Hugo Paiva said:"I am excited to come to India to win the MFN title. I have a strong opponent to face who has been unbeaten in his past couple of fights. But I have trained well with my team and we are confident that we will make an impact. My aim is not only to win the title, but also to entertain the fans." Ayesha Shroff, Co-Founder MFN, said:"Absolutely thrilled to share this exciting card with you all! MFN is poised for the next chapter and this is a fantastic step towards that announcement. Being my first time playing Matchmaker, I had a blast with this one. The fight card makes or breaks your show because at the end of the day, your fighters are the stars. They are the main characters people come to see. So there is a lot of expectation and pressure riding on them to put on exciting fights and perform.”“My job is to make that slightly easier and to help take the show a notch higher by putting together the best matchups between fighters who have the most interesting stylistic matchups, specifically. With 2 championship belts on the line, some huge names from the Indian combat world, and massive international talent from across the globe, MFN 12 promises to be next level." MATRIX FIGHT NIGHT 12 CARD: PRELIMS: LIGHTWEIGHT: Gurtej Singh (IND) vs Edukondal Rao (IND) STRAWWEIGHT: Sonam Zomba (IND) vs Jojo Rajkumari (IND) FEATHERWEIGHT: Dushyant Singh (IND) vs Anthony Syiem (IND) FLYWEIGHT: Aminder Bisht (IND) vs Akash (IND) MAIN CARD: BANTAMWEIGHT: Chungreng Koren (IND) vs Chaitanya Gavali (IND) FEATHERWEIGHT: Rahul Thapa (IND) vs Avizo Lanamai (IND) FEATHERWEIGHT: Shyamanand (IND) vs Mido Mohamed (EGY) LIGHTWEIGHT: Neeraj Panghal (IND) vs Digamber Singh Rawat (IND) LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT: Pawan Maan (IND) vs Sandeep Dahiya (IND) FEATHERWEIGHT: Mochamed Machaev (AT) vs Khabibullo Azizov (TJ) TITLE FIGHTS: STRAWWEIGHT: Puja Tomar (IND) vs Anastasia Feofanova (RU) - Co Main Event FLYWEIGHT: Angad Bisht (IND) vs Hugo Paiva (BRA) - Main Event

Co-founders Ayesha Shroff, Krishna Shroff divulge the story behind Matrix Fight NightSports Bulletin ReportNew Delhi (India):-The Matrix Fight Night-12 will be held on July 1, 2023 at the Noida Indoor Stadium, Sector 21, New Delhi India, as since its inception in 2019, Matrix Fight Night (MFN) has established itself as the biggest Mixed-Martial Arts (MMA) promotion in India."In 2017, MFN truly became an idea. I had been following the sport of MMA for about 20 years and for one of the weekends, I took my mother along with me," Krishna recalled. "She sat there and experienced a live fight for the first time and was totally blown away. We got back and she was like, 'we have to do this because we could do so much better'. I immediately jumped on board. My brother fully backed the idea and we became a dream team," she further added. Ayesha Shroff further recalled the moment when she witnessed her first live MMA fight. "Tiger had the opportunity to be a part of a MMA team. He was obligated to attend an event but he was caught up and asked me to go in his place. Watching the show, I was hooked for life. There was nothing more exciting than watching a live fight.” For the Shroff family, the decision to go into the MMA route was a tough one, especially with cricket, football, and kabaddi seeing massive fan engagement in the country from sporting fans. To invest in a cricket or a football franchise or a league would have been a simpler path to follow. But the rebel streak in the mother-daughter duo kept them on the unexpected journey. "MMA is the fastest growing sport in the world but in India it has been an uphill struggle. Even after 11 shows, I still get asked the difference between MMA and WWE. If I was doing cricket, I would have people signing me blank checks. Here, we have to work show-to-show to get ourselves sponsors," Ayesha Shroff said.Krishna said:"Dad (Jackie Shroff) also did not understand the sport at first and it took him a couple of years to truly grasp the technicality of the sport and the vision. Now he is completely on board and supports us 100 percent. He even wakes up every Sunday at 7 AM to watch all the UFC fights and has become a fan of the sport." For the MFN co-founders, one of the critical reasons for starting MFN was to provide a platform for the Indian fighters who did not have ample opportunities to showcase their talent on a global scale. And now, as MFN enters its 12th edition, the MFN promoters are moving on with the same vision. "It never was a vanity project for us. The intention was always to give the Indian fighters what they truly deserve. The intention continues after 11 editions of MFN. All our focus is to get them to the next level," Ayesha Shroff said. "I have so much respect for these athletes. More than the physicality, it's their mental strength that really intrigues me. It is a blessing to be around these guys so up close and personal and feed off of that. It motivates me," Krishna added. The 12th edition of MFN is set to take place on July 1st at the Noida Indoor Stadium, Sector 21, and promises another cracking show. "MMA is a mind game. I believe to be an MMA fighter, you need to have a little extra. It takes a very special kind of person to get into the cage and have the door locked behind you, face your opponent and get into a beautiful and technical fight," Ayesha Shroff signed off.