A festival of kickboxing and MMA shows Pakistan’s growing interest in the sport

KARACHI: The atmosphere was buzzing with intensity; the octagon bursting with energy. Fighters from Afghanistan were there. There were women fighters as well, proving that interest in kickboxing and mixed martial arts is peaking in Pakistan.

Organised by K7 Fitness and Kickboxing Academy and the Sindh Sports Department, the KO1 Revolution event here on Wednesday evening featured 13 high-voltage bouts not only showed the talent but also shone light on the struggle the athletes have to face in taking up the sport.

“Like any other sport, this isn’t easy to pursue,” Pakistan’s Haziq Chandio, the winner of the main event over Waheed Ahmedi of Afghanistan, told Dawn. “But we have to keep doing this … it’s something that runs in my family. I grew up watching my father and uncle.”

In the MMA fight against the undefeated Ahmedi, Haziq won on a unanimous decision. With his height advantage, he outpointed Ahmedi easily, throwing punches from a safe distance with his opponent only swinging in the air to connect a knockout blow.

It was the opening bout between Sadiya and Nataliya that had more action. Bloodied from the nose in the kickboxing flyweight fight before the last round, Sadiya won on a unanimous decision.

But her joy after winning didn’t last long as her sister Surraya lost her unbeaten record against Eman Khokar in a bout that was so close that it required an additional round for the judges to decide the winner.

“Just happy to win, don’t want to get too happy though, need to continue training and keeping this up,” Eman, who counts Kyrgyz fighter Valentina Shevchenko as her inspiration, told Dawn before adding that the two women bouts showed that “it isn’t a men-centric sport and girls can compete at a very high level”.

In another kickboxing bout that went to an additional round saw three-time national champion Naqeebullah kept his unbeaten record while ending Mohammad Rasool’s run. Rasool remarkably was floored four times in the third round but rose to his feet each time, only to lose on a split decision.

Afghan MMA fighter Jalal Hajizada won his first kickboxing bout when his opponent Zahoor Khan forfeited in the third round, having no response to a flurry of punches from his opponent.

“Very happy to win here,” Hajizada told Dawn, “but next time I come to Pakistan, I’d like to compete in a MMA bout.”

Another Afghan victory came in the first round when Samiullah had Sameer Jutt tap out with a guillotine choke in the first round before his compatriot Nastratullah Langari recorded a unanimous decision victory against Haider Farman in the co-main event.

Haziq ended Afghanistan’s winning run in the day’s final bout while his brother Abdullah had earlier accounted for Afghanistan’s Sultan Najib Amanzai in their kick-boxing bout.

The night’s only knockout was delivered by Daud Atif to Jamal Abbas; “the destroyer” landing a vicious kick right on the face to live up to his nickname.

But for all the action and adrenaline, there remained a question of ‘what next’ for these fighters.

“There are facilities in Pakistan but affording them is very difficult,” another winner on the night Anil Khokar told Dawn. “For just one fight, you have to spend a lot of money on diet and other stuff. There is then a lack of sponsorship so it’s really hard for us to advance and compete on a higher level.”