Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) is a relatively new sport in the country but in a short span of time, Pakistani athletes have put the country on the map of combat sports.

Recently, a five-man contingent comprising Ismail Khan, Zulqarnain Khan, Eman Khan, Abu Bakar Munir and Taimoor Khan, under the banner of Pakistan Mixed Martial Arts Federation (PAKMMAF), stood at the ninth spot in the International Mixed Martial Arts Federation (IMMAF) World Championships featuring 56 teams.

The event was organised in Abu Dhabi between January 24 to January 29. This contingent of amateur fighters secured Pakistan’s first win in any IMMAF competition with a gargantuan effort by Ismail “The Volcano” Khan who secured a bronze medal.

Ismail defeated IMMAF European and IMMAF World Cup medalists on his way to securing the medal for the country.

Apart from The Volcano’s show-stealing performance, Zulqarnain recorded Pakistan’s first-ever TKO (technical knockout) finish in any IMMAF event.

For many, capturing the ninth position would be nothing extraordinary. However, the gravity of this achievement can be understood only if you take into account that IMMAF World Championship is the most prestigious contest for the amateurs in MMA.

Though MMA is currently not a recognised Olympic sport, IMMAF’s mandate as an organisation is to get it recognised by the International Olympics Committee (IOC) and make it part of the mega-event.

The astonishing part is that MMA has had a considerably smaller lifespan in Pakistan compared to all other Olympic sports being played in the country. Moreover, there is no attention towards this sport, which is becoming popular on the global stage.

There is close to no recognition of the sport at the government level and there is no regulatory body for MMA in the country despite having roots in Pakistan for over 15 years.

Still, the MMA community (compromising of clubs, coaches, fighters, professional workers etc.) has independently organised fight nights to elevate the standard of fighters as well as to promote the sport overall. Funding has been scarce and primarily dependent on private sectors, while Covid-19 made the situation even worse for the octagon sport.

Despite these circumstances, MMA in Pakistani has found ways to remain active and continues to grow at the grassroots in the country.

It was not the first time that Pakistani fighters competed in the IMMAF World Championship, but this was the first instance where the contingent participated under the unified umbrella of the PAKMMAF.

The effort to establish the PAKMMAF came through Salman Iqbal, the chairman of the federation who solely sponsored the team for the World Championship. Accompanying the team to the event was Omar Ahmed, the PAKMMAF president.

“We had a very diverse team for the World Championships which is a true representation of the vast population,” said Omar. “It was a diverse team in terms of age, socio-economic backgrounds and in the country’s geographical regions which became our strength.”

He added that competing at such a huge event gave the fighters and himself an unparalleled experience, which also helped them identify the ingredients to become a leading MMA federation in the world.

“We are working on securing private funding to make this federation bigger and to learn progressive ways of managing and training athletes,” he stated. “With a population of about 220 million, we can surely produce some exciting fighters who can compete with the top fighters of the world in the years to come.”

The 22-year-old’s show to win the medal was truly awe-inspiring for the young MMA fighters of the country. What he achieved as an individual is a result of his consistency and hard work in the local circuit.

Ismail has been one of the most active MMA fighters in Pakistan prior to his historic performance at the IMMAF campaign.

The young sensation has competed in 10 amateur bouts in a short span of two years with a large majority of his fights taking place in the Flogger Series, a fight promotion started by his head coach Nasir Khan Yousafzai.

Flogger Series regularly saw challengers from all across Pakistan and Afghanistan, however, no one could come close to Ismail.

The Volcano advanced to the semi-final stage of the tournament and only lost to the eventual Gold medalist in his division. It was Ismail’s first loss of his amateur career, taking the tally to 13-1.

“I’m the only amateur fighter in Pakistan who has fought 20 amateur fights, of which some have not made it to my official Tapology record page,” shared Ismail. “Fighters mostly have only a few amateur fights in the country, but I tried to get in as much amateur experience as possible.”

The budding fighter maintained that most of his countrymen focus on complaining about the lack of opportunities and resources without duly playing their part.

“I truly believe that if you work hard and stay ready, God will make a path for you to reach the highest peaks,” he stated.

Pakistan undoubtedly has an incredible prospect at hand in Ismail Khan, who is now looking towards starting an equally impressive professional career by continuing the hard work he’s been putting in.

“I’ve now started my professional career and I’m grateful for all the experience I’ve got inside the cage. If you want to get ahead of the competition, you have to keep fighting the toughest opponents,” he explained. “Fighters abroad are ahead of us in terms of the facilities, training, diet and nutrition; thus the only way we can compete with them is by having the toughest fights.”

The head coach of the contingent, Ehtisham Karim Shaheen, said that coaching players for the IMMAF event was a different experience altogether, adding that there is no reason why Pakistani fighters cannot compete at the highest level.

“While unity and discipline are key qualities needed for a country’s sports to advance, our main focus should be towards acquiring the latest knowledge related to the sport of MMA,” explained Ehtisham. “Along with wrestling, striking and grappling, we need to learn about things such as nutrition, strength, conditioning and combat fitness.”

Ehtisham wants the people of the MMA community to help each other by sharing and transferring knowledge to the emerging fighters and new coaches.

“I hope to see this transfer of knowledge taking place through the PAKMMAF. We must all use our struggle as our strength, remain unified as a country practising MMA and transfer information amongst each other,” he voiced.

Eman Khan became the first woman to represent Pakistan at the IMMAF World Championship. Eman had a stand out performance in her successful amateur debut at ARY Warriors 1, a domestic MMA event, and quickly established herself as the frontrunner for Pakistan women’s MMA. She truly believes this will open the gateways for more women to compete locally.

“I do hope that this pushes more women to compete locally but more than that, I want to see a shift in the attitude regarding their health and safety among women in Pakistan,” she said. “Combat sports are a great way to build strength and confidence while also staying fit.”

Eman recalled how a rough patch in her life had drained the confidence out of her and how she found refuge in the MMA.

“This [the rough patch] led me to seek self-defence through which I found kickboxing. Training kickboxing helped me move better, made me feel stronger physically as well as mentally,” she reiterated. “I began to have a lot more faith in myself and it pushed me to work harder and move past any limitations I thought I had before.”

Pakistani MMA continues to evolve and grow organically with grassroots activities leading the charge for athlete development and elevating the status of fighters and teams.

The combat sport has an unparalleled potential for growth and can go above and beyond expectations with the right support and attention given to it by the relevant stakeholders at play.