'He was my pick': Meet MMA expert who recognised the talent in UFC fighter Anshul Jubli

With the interest in MMA taking a prominent spot in India, exciting times could be predicted. Great figures like Conor McGregor, Islam Makhachev, and Israel Adesanya, already have a huge fan following in the Asian nation and as Anshul Jubli has entered the space, the popularity is skyrocketing. But as merry moments are making their way we must not forget the effort of some significant people, who have been contributing to the sport for as long as last 20 years.

The Newsmaker

As one of the objectives of republicworld.com is the premier coverage of every sport, thus, in our bid we shed on MMA quite often, and this time we caught up with one of the known experts of the sport, Somesh Kamra.

Somesh Kamra is an MMA expert. He runs an MMA gym and has taken the onus to nurture MMA fighters. He's been the backbone for Indian MMA fighters on a global circuit. He started as a coach, eventually taking the role of a fight manager before associating with the UFC for India. He's devoted himself to the sport for over two decades. In an exclusive conversation with Republic, Somesh shared his unique observation about the game, laid out what got him hooked on MMA, and also revealed what the sport has taught him.

Excerpts...

Q. How the incredible sport of MMA reached to you?

The question takes me back to 2003/04 when I was browsing a few channels and I happened to stumble upon Pride FC. That was the era when kids like me were hooked on WWE. And I was seeing a ring which was there and I was seeing people hit each other and it looked real. I just got hooked on to it, I was like let me just watch a little more and a little more, and thereby Pride FC became the soul of my life. I started downloading the clips of it as much as I could and from then my journey started and I never looked back. 

It was an early start when nobody knew about MMA. I was always from a boxing background and what happens with a sportsperson when in a certain country you don't see enough growth or you don't see the sport going in the correct direction, you start looking at avenues, browsing channels, you want to see what's happening around the world and this I am talking about when there was no YouTube as well. There was no access to videos online, we could not keep track of what was happening in the other part of the world, there was no Instagram, no Facebook or stuff also, so were in that decade where we were dependent on Newspaper cutouts to complete a project. Even computers and the internet were also not advanced. So it was all via television and Pride FC changed my life. 

Q. You have a Boxing background, have you ever knoced out anyone?

I have and also have been knocked-out, a couple of times (LAUGHS). Genuinely what I feel for parents in today's era, they look at this particular sport as a violent sport. But violence is everywhere, you are fighting for your job, and you are fighting for a place on the train. So generally people are fighting it just happens to be that in this sport people are fighting. I believe in the Roman philosophy that if a man has not tested himself in violence it's a big block that he's been missing out on.  

Q. Which is better, inside the ring or outside calling the fight?

Being outside is much safer for me and the sport has advanced to a level where it is no longer a boxer vs karate guy, judi guy vs wrestler, they are all MMA fighters who are at the top level, with top coaches, top nutrition, who are competing at the highest level. The sport is growing at a level where it is not just expanding geographically but also the sports people are getting more serious about it, there are more opportunities, fighters are making it into a career and I think it is easily at number 4 or number 5 in India.

Q. Future of sport in India.

I think the sport is going to grow very very rapidly because I personally believe that cricket has this monopoly and you have to follow a certain path to get there, there are other sports like Tennis, Kabbadi, which are high up they are governed by some association through which you have to go. MMA is one of the sports which is the largest body in the world, be it the UFC, One Championship, or Bellator, they are private organizations so you don't have to go through a government-sanctioned body. If that is one of your hurdles you don't have to go through that. If you know the right channels, right people, and if you are performing at the highest level there is a good chance you are one or two phone calls away from that. 

Q. Is MMA always going to be dominated by private promotions or a grand slam tournament may emerge with time?

 After Brock Lesnar entered the sport from WWE, after CM Punk entered the UFC, you never know what's next. It could be the Champion of UFC vs the Champion of One Championship, I think that is where the sport will go in the next maybe 10-12 years.

Q. One aspect of the game that hardly sees any attention and you want to bring your expertise in it?

One aspect that most fighters in India do not understand is the art of weight-cutting. So normally most of the Indian fighters, when they have to cut weight for a certain bout if they are fighting say in the 155-pound division (Lightweight) and generally walk around at 170, 175 pounds, through the training they reach about 160 but the last 5 pounds becomes very-very difficult to cut, and most Indian fighters that I have seen they sit in a sauna, or wear a sauna suit and they go out on a cycle and tend to dehydrate themselves a lot which eventually affects their performance in the fight the following day. So, one thing which I really would like to touch upon is the art of weight cutting and how just by the consumption of water we can fluctuate a person's weight up to easily 12-15 pounds. 

Q. Thoughts on India's wonderboy Anshul Jubli

I worked for the organization, he was my pick. It was a big risk, he was out of action for some time, somebody who's involved in this sport for so long, you don't see records, you don't see numbers, you start seeing mindset of how hungry that particular athlete could be and Anshul Jubli fit in that bracket for me. Hungry enough, he was determined enough, he was listening to his corner, he was listening to his coaches, he was listening to all three of us at the same time, he was grasping all of it and that eventually got him the victory with his fabulous talent. So, kudos to Anshul Jubli and it is just a start. 

Also Read | Want to become UFC fighter from India? Here's Anshul Jubli's roadmap to fulfill MMA dream

Q. A unique teaching that the sport gave you.

This sport is so wonderful and the reason why I like and tell everyone to try this sport even if it means for fitness, you don't have to compete, because the biggest test in life or the biggest learning in life is when you get beaten and you know you are not the best and at that particular time you decide whether to come back stronger or you have accepted defeat. And there are so many pathways in this sport that it is unbelievable. I genuinely would appreciate it if any young kid be it a guy or a girl to try out combat sports, the moment they get beaten they realise they are not the best in the world and honestly parents pamper their kids. I was talking to a few parents just a couple of months back and they were telling me that in every sport or every task, everybody gets a medal and everybody gets a certificate and that's honestly not how life is run, when you go outside in the world you are not going to be cocooned and your parents would celebrate you coming 6th in a competition. I used to play professional cricket and when we lose we used to actually physically get abused and even if we lose the finals and technically come second our coach used to say listen just go back to work because 2nd is not good enough. If you don't win then don't play, so that has changed and in combat sports the good part is you either get beaten or beat the other person, there's no third way. I feel there are more lessons in getting beaten rather than beating somebody else and that is what the sports has taught me.

*Sony Sports network is the official partner of UFC in India.