Mixed Martial Arts is a strategy-based amalgam of many forms of physical combat. Contested popularly in the Ultimate Fighting Championship, it involves rigorous training, discipline, strength, and resilience. | AP

"He's going to cover kick-boxing," my colleague scoffed, foggier than even I was on Ultimate Fighting Championship (I record with the pride of a snob that I knew it was mixed martial arts). "Kick-boxing?!" chided another colleague, with a snort-laugh.

I wasn't sold when I was assigned to cover a UFC fight in Singapore, and I confess to not having read up on it with due diligence. Nevertheless, I was determined to watch it fresh and live in the arena and hopefully better imbibe its dynamics.

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There was kicking and boxing, sure. There was also grappling, choking. We — I and another scribe from India — were trying to piece together the whole by picking out parts of the sum from what we saw. It was our first-time ever watching a UFC fight and we were learning most organically.

My friend spotted a guy in a UFC T-shirt with Bethe Correia's name and photo on it — Correia's fight with Holly Holm was the main fight of the night we covered. This bucked us up a trifle, having been able to identify him, albeit with uncertainty. We approached him as he devoured an ice-cream, feeling like unbidden guests at an ungodly hour. We disturbed him, however, and he politely cleared our doubts, apologising even, for his fractured English. Turns out, he was Correia's coach.

We asked him whether there were any restrictions on the martial art forms used in the tournament. Whether competitors preferred one or some over the others.

"Wrestling, Boxing, Jiu-Jitsu, Muay Thai, Sambo, and so on. There's no restriction as such. Also, I guess Wrestling is slightly more important than the rest, for it helps a lot to take an opponent down."

There are roughly three aspects to the fighting, Alan Fenandes, the Indian National MMA coach, told us later. The "Striking", wherein the fighters stand cautiously apart and trade blows. The "Clinch game", wherein they close in and grapple to try take the other down. And the "Ground fight", which is how the fighters deal with each other when the fight is taken to the floor.

A fighter trains under various instructors for the varied forms they derive from, and has to undergo a strict fitness routine to keep their weight and sustain an optimum level of speed, strength, and stamina.

The first thing that hit me was the brutality. It was unlike boxing, where it's only punch-and-parry and the fighting appears more civilised.

There was protective gear for the teeth and crotch, not for the head. This, despite the frequency of casual blows fighters suffered to the head. While there was a set of rules for the fighters to abide by, from the sight of it, the fighting seemed unrestrained. "Yeah, it looks like the human version of a cock-fight," said Fenandes.

From close to the cage, it felt like watching a one-on-one street brawl with spectating bystanders cheering for one and provoking the either. "Somebody kill somebody," yelled a chap at some point. Apparently, from what I heard from an official of the All India Mixed Martial Arts Association (AIMMAA), the fighting was barbaric when the concept of MMA was born, with no rules preventing fighters from gouging each other's eyes out.

Under the common set of rules for MMA — better known as the "Unified rules of MMA" — there are supposed to be no groin attacks, head butts, hair-pulling, biting, eye-gouging, knees to the head on a grounded opponent, strikes to the back of the head and spine, and so on. Besides, the promoter — UFC here — is allowed to create its own rules.

The science of UFC

The play in any sport is prompted by the biomechanics sunk in the muscle memory. In cricket, for instance, one knows the cut shot is to be played on the backfoot — there’s the weight transfer — to meet the ball late with an angled bat. Or, that the legs need to form a firm base to generate maximum power, especially when slogging at the death.

Here, the science behind the moves is savagery. "It chokes the oxygen supply to the head," said a die-hard UFC fan, of the rear naked choke, a submission hold. This, besides the obviously visible infernal pressure the victim takes to the neck. One may at times see the choking head turn red, if not see actual blood. I heard that a fighter got maimed in a fight and took around a year to get back into the cage, an octagonal open-top ring.

A fighter doesn't relent even if the opponent appears done, until the referee intervenes and declares a win. Holm, for instance, punched a dizzied Correia on the face in the time it took for the referee to act, even after she had been downed by a head kick. Holm, who was a professional boxer, later said that she was just about to back off to the corner after the kick, out of the habit from boxing.

"It's too brutal. You think all people will like it? Now, tell me, why do they show the blood in black-and-white in television [in India, largely]," asked a senior scribe who had already watched a few fights on TV.

"Yes, it's brutal. But that's the point of it!," argued the die-hard UFC fan.

Now, different people will have different reasons to watch it. But the one who finds it brutal will be curious to know why the other likes it.

"For me, it's like two persons defining themselves with what they naturally have, what they are born with," reasoned the long-time UFC fan. "And, I think, people are easily inclined to like any body-contact sport. Take even Kabaddi, for that matter. It has huge fan following. I think it's a basic human mentality. What about the gladiatorial contests of the ancient Rome? Why did people enjoy it so much?"

"I don't enjoy the submission holds as much as the knock-out punches and kicks. They give me the kick!" he concluded.

Another thing that hooks a fan is the build-up to a fight — the fighters’ hauteur, the overdone stare-off poses, and even the trash talk. The sport thrives on all these optics.

"I love the trash talk. [Conor] McGregor does it the best. He's my favourite. He made UFC what it is today," the friend added, as a kayo.

Every fan I spoke to admired McGregor. Even other fighters — he's most respected in the UFC community. Naturally, his bout with Floyd Mayweather Jr. was much talked-about in the pressers and at the weigh-in before fight night.

The fighters were excited that one of their own was to take on the legendary boxer. The bout, most anticipated, was seen thus: If MMA were a person, the prestigious bout signified a rise in their social status.

“I love what McGregor does, and did, to get this fight," said Correia. “I think when you have the confidence and want to get into something, you have to talk your way to get into it. So, I [applaud] Conor for getting this fight."

It is expected to take at least another two years for UFC to come to India. The Indian talent pool is yet to meet the standard of the UFC fighters.

Strategy is time-bound in UFC. A fighter is to tailor their tactics to 15 minutes, the duration of a fight — three five-minute rounds. The format thus makes for intense fighting that makes a casual viewer forget that it actually involves the brain. I thought of WWE when Russell Doane stomped and yelled in joy, having knocked out his opponent.

From what I saw — and I attribute it to the format — a fighter mostly tends to try knock the opponent out or pull off a submission hold.

There is little or no time to bide here, whereas Mayweather visibly bided his time in the boxing bout versus McGregor. McGregor fizzed in the first three rounds, even landed the most punches (51-40) in the first five, before being out-punched, or rather punched out. Mayweather's tactic grew on the viewer with time — walk the opponent down, target the body, and then the head.

India has a big market for UFC

Viewership data obtained from Sony Pictures Networks shows that around 1.1 million viewers sampled the Singapore event here.

Also, the gross impressions for UFC (live + repeats) have grown by 57% for the first 26 weeks of this year, compared to the same period last year. Impression is a BARC (Broadcast Audience Research Council) metric which is a function of the reach of a program and the time spent on it by the viewers.

The live telecasts of the fights have seen growth in engagement this year; that is, the average time spent watching it has increased from 6.8 minutes last year to 18.4 minutes this year. Women account for around 43% of the viewership for the live fights.

Assam / North East / Sikkim, Chennai, Andhra Pradesh / Telangana, and Kerala are the strong markets in terms of viewership.

Yet, a UFC official who addressed the media post-event said it would take at least another two years for UFC to come to India. He said the Indian talent pool is yet to meet the standard of the UFC fighters.

Fenandes said there isn't enough money invested in the sport in India, which makes it tough for the fighters to sustain a career. Few sponsors and promoters mean insufficient exposure for the fighters.

The “Super Fight League”, held first in 2012, brought some attention to the sport.

Still, Fenandes sees the sport improving in India. He believes that UFC must not wait, but enter the country sooner rather than later.