A new breed: Manish Mahanta

Among the latest crop of talent coming up in the Indian MMA amateur scene is Manish Mahanta. A fairly experienced fighter with 16-2 in his record, he’s made a good name for himself in the amateur scene.

He’s one of Assam’s rising stars in MMA. He’ll be fighting in the featherweight division in the AIMMAA tournament in Hyderabad. He made his amateur debut in 2015 and his last bout was in ACS 6.0 where he won via knockout.

Along with being a fighter, he’s a b-boyer, a local business owner and he’s also a certified physical trainer. He enjoys physical activities and different sports and understands how these different sports can help in his movement and stamina.

He’s trained with some of the best fighters coming out of the state like Manas Diamary and Bhabajeet Choudhury. At 25 years old, he made his transition from Karate to MMA in 2015, because he wanted to dig deeper into combat sports. He is training under Manas Diamary in Dojang MMA as well as Hillside MMA under David Chhangte. A consummate striker, he enjoys striking and kickboxing but he also enjoys wrestling as well. 

His favourite fighter is former UFC bantamweight champion Petr Yan. He loves Yan’s style of fighting, especially his combinations. He’s also inspired by UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya and takes inspiration from how he approaches the fight game. He loves his walk outs and celebrations and he also understands the value of entertainment in the sport.

He’s a young fighter who understands the game and understands the need to grow his own game. For this reason, since he started MMA, he’s moved up around to different camps so that he gain more experience and learn from different training partners.

Looking forward to the AIMMAA tournament, he understands how the level of competition will be and he’s made preparations accordingly. He’s also hoping to get a spot in the MFN 10 wildcard. However, he understands well enough that a move to the professional level will require approval from his coaches. 

He’s very glad with how the sport of MMA is growing in the northeastern region of India and gives props to all the gyms coming out of the region. He also wishes his fellow youth and aspiring fighters to understand the meaning of two words ‘consistency and discipline’. 

An expensive sport. 

At the moment, MMA in India is still growing. Many fighters have to spend on everything from gym fees, travelling expenses to medical bills from their own pockets. Despite being a global sport, it’s not yet recognized by the Olympic committee. Many of these athletes don’t get sponsored by either the state or private institutions. Yet the future is hopeful for these guys with a tunnel vision and determination to make it. We can only hope that things for them will get better outside the cage and that their real efforts will not go to waste.