Matrix Fight Night

Last updated

Matrix Fight Night
Company typePrivately held company
Industry Mixed martial arts
Founded2019
Founder
Headquarters
Mumbai, Maharashtra
,
India
Key people
Website www.mfnofficial.com

The Matrix Fight Night (MFN) is an Indian professional mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion Company based in Mumbai, Maharashtra. It is owned and operated by Hindi film actor Tiger Shroff, his mother Ayesha Shroff and his sister Krishna Shroff. The promotion was founded in 2019. [2]

Contents

The Shroff family also owns a chain of MMA gyms called MMA Matrix. [3] Matrix Fight Night has hosted 15 premium fight nights as of March 2024, featuring fighters from both India and other countries. MFN has been instrumental in producing several MMA stars including Anshul Jubli and Puja Tomar, both of them have gone on to sign with the UFC. [4]

History

Matrix Fight Night was founded in 2019 by the Shroff family. The shroffs joined forces to establish a premium MMA promotion aimed to improve and shape Mixed Martial Arts in South Asia & Southeast Asia. Matrix Fight Night kickstarted with their debut event (MFN 1) in Mumbai on 12 March 2019. The event was held at the NSCI Dome and featured 7 professional fights. [5]

Anshul Jubli made his professional MMA debut at MFN 2, which was held on 29 June 2019 in New Delhi. Anshul's undefeated streak (5–0) at MFN earned him the opportunity to fight in the lightweight division of Road to UFC Season 1. Anshul won the tournament after beating Jeka Saragih of Indonesia in the finals, thus securing the UFC contract. [6]

MFN expanded globally with MFN 4, choosing Dubai as their international fight capital. [7] [8] Three consecutive editions of Matrix Fight Night, from MFN 4 to MFN 6, [9] were hosted in Dubai. Despite the pandemic, MFN managed to organize events with the assistance of the Dubai Sports Council.

MFN 6 (Anshul Vs Mahmoudiyan) had its first foreign fighter at Matrix Fight Night. [10] In late-2022, Matrix Fight Night announced its partnership with the OTT giant Disney+Hotstar. [11] MFN events are streamed live in India on Disney+Hotstar. [12]

Format

Matrix Fight Night has two formats: International Fight Night and MFN Contenders. International Fight Night showcases the best talent from India and abroad, while MFN Contenders serves as a feeder event for International Fight Night. [13]

The first MFN Contenders event took place in September 2022 in Hyderabad. The three-day event witnessed over 400 fighters competing in various weight categories to earn the MFN Contract. [14]

Events list

MFN has hosted 14 events as of March 2024. [15] [16] [17] MFN 14, the latest event, took place on 9 March 2024 at Noida Indoor Stadium, Noida. Each event features 12 bouts. [18]

#EventDateVenueLocation
15Matrix Fight Night 15August 31, 2024Noida Indoor Stadium Noida, India
14Matrix Fight Night 14March 9, 2024
13Matrix Fight Night 13October 28, 2023
12Matrix Fight Night 12July 1, 2023
11Matrix Fight Night 11October 28, 2023 Talkatora Stadium New Delhi, India
10Matrix Fight Night 10November 18, 2022 Palazzo Versace Dubai Dubai, United Arab Emirates
9Matrix Fight Night 9June 24, 2022 Siri Fort Auditorium New Delhi, India
8Matrix Fight Night 8April 1, 2022
7Matrix Fight Night 7December 10, 2021 Falaknuma Palace Hyderabad, India
6Matrix Fight Night 6: Anshul vs. MahmoudiyanSeptember 24, 2021 Palazzo Versace Dubai Dubai, United Arab Emirates
5Matrix Fight Night 5December 15, 2020
4Matrix Fight Night 4February 28, 2020 Al-Nasr Sports Club
3Matrix Fight Night 3December 20, 2019 NSCI Dome Mumbai, India
2Matrix Fight Night 2June 29, 2019 Siri Fort Auditorium New Delhi, India
1Matrix Fight Night 1March 12, 2019 NSCI Dome Mumbai, India

Current champions

DivisionUpper weight limitChampionSinceTitle DefensesSources
Light Heavyweight205 lb (93 kg)VacantTBD
Middleweight185 lb (84 kg)VacantTBD
Welterweight170 lb (77 kg) Flag of Kyrgyzstan.svg Darkhanbek ErgeshevMarch 31, 2023 (MFN 11)1 [19]
Lightweight155 lb (70 kg)VacantTBD
Featherweight145 lb (66 kg)VacantTBD
Bantamweight135 lb (61 kg) Flag of India.svg Chungreng KorenAugust 31, 2024 (MFN 15) [20]
Flyweight125 lb (57 kg)VacantTBD
Women's Strawweight115 lb (52 kg)VacantTBD

Championship history

MFN Welterweight Championship

77 kg (170 lb)

No.NameEventDateDefenses
Current Flag of Kyrgyzstan.svg Darkhanbek Ergeshev
def. Seth Rosario
MFN 11
New Delhi, India
March 31, 20231. def. Jason Solomon at MFN 13 on October 28, 2023

MFN Featherweight Championship

66 kg (145 lb)

No.NameEventDateDefenses
1 Flag of India.svg Sanjeet Budhwar
def. Atabek Abdimitalipov
MFN 10
Dubai, United Arab Emirates
November 18, 20221. def. Shyam Anand at MFN 13 on October 28, 2023 [21]
Budhwar was stripped of the title on March 8, 2024 after failing to make weight for his title defense against Abdul Azim Badakhshi at MFN 14. [22]

MFN Bantamweight Championship

61 kg (135 lb)

No.NameEventDateDefenses
Current Flag of India.svg Chungreng Koren
def. Kantharaj Agasa
MFN 15
Noida, India
August 31, 2024

MFN Flyweight Championship

57 kg (125 lb)

No.NameEventDateDefenses
1 Flag of India.svg Angad Bisht
def. Mohamed Gamal
MFN 10
Dubai, United Arab Emirates
November 18, 2022
Angad vacated the title when he signed with the Road to UFC.

MFN Women's Strawweight Championship

52 kg (115 lb)

No.NameEventDateDefenses
1 Flag of India.svg Puja Tomar
def. Bi Nguyen
MFN 10
Dubai, United Arab Emirates
November 18, 20221. def. Anastasia Feofanova at MFN 12 on July 1, 2023 [23]
Tomar vacated the title in October 2023 when she signed with the UFC. [24]

Rankings

MFN Men's pound for pound Rankings

No.NameRecordWeight classRepresenting
1Sanjeet Budhwar11-2FeatherweightHaryana
2Angad Bisht9-3FlyweightUttarakhand
3Clinton Kenin D'Cruz6-0FlyweightKarnataka
4Shyamanand4-2FeatherweightBihar
5Digamber Rawat4-0LightweightUttrakhand
6Pawan Maan Singh8-3Light HeavyweightNew Delhi
7Chungreng Koren6-1BantamweightManipur
8Rahul Thapa4-1FeatherweightHaryana
9Puniyajit Likharu4-0BantamweightAssam
10Sahil Rana9-1BantamweightHimachal Pradesh
11Dinesh Naorem2-0FlyweightManipur
12Darshanbek Ergeshov11-2WelterweightKyrgyzstan

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References

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