PANAJI
Yet another enthralling season of India’s premier mixed martial arts event Combat Cage Fight (CCF) began this weekend with nail-biting bouts and close finishes. The event returned for a second season on December 18 and 19 at its new home “ Destination One, GTDC Calangute Residency in its Beach Facing Gardens.
Goa came out on top in the main events on both nights in two of the toughest fights witnessed at a Combat Cage Fight Night. Nelson Paes and Pushka Bhosle sent roars through the crowd at every punch, kick and dodge, while the entertainment kept spirits up throughout the event.
CCF ramped it up from last year, with 24 fighters battling out in 12 high-energy bouts this season. Starting at sundown, both nights saw thrilling fights, top-notch entertainment and a very enthusiastic crowd as CCF once again proved itself as an emerging entertainment sport in India. Delhi took the first fight as Abdul Hammed won by judges’ decision against Kerala’s Danny Mapala. It followed soon by an exciting bout as Hemant Wedekar from Madhya Pradesh knocked out Shera Khan from Maharashtra.
As always, CCF places great importance on the inclusion of women and their empowerment, and both fight nights showcased three ladies’ bouts. Last year’s winner Bharti Poswal from Haryana was looking to retain her winning streak but the judges’ decision awarded the first night to Delhi’s Mehraaz Khan instead. This was followed by a swift knock-out of Debojeet Roy from Kolkatta, who fell to the advances of Rohit Pundeer from Uttar Pradesh (UP) in the first round itself. In the co-main event, Punjab’s Suraj Bahadhur won by submission in the second round against Vikas Dahiya from Delhi.
The main event stretched to an intense four rounds with Goa’s Nelson Paes and Haryana’s Ashish Chaudhary in the ring. It turned out to be the fight of the night, when Paes finally got the better of Chaudhary and took him out in a Technical Knock Out in Round 4. He said, “It was a great honour to once again fight in my home town. I am now heading straight back into training so I can represent Goa in different states across India when CCF goes on tour.”
In the opening ladies’ bout, the judges voted in favour of Bhavana Kumar from Haryana over Delhi’s Sushila Dahiya. There was a spike in voltage in the next round as UP’s Vivek Sharma won by technical knock out in the third round against Haryana’s Pankaj Khanna. In the following fight, Maharashtra’s Javed Nulla won by submission in the first round against Shubhan Sharma of Delhi. A split decision then went in favour of Manjit Kolekar from Maharashtra against Delhi’s Sonal Chavan.
Jammu and Kashmir sent Arun Charak for the co-main event. He proved a good selection against Delhi’s Jamshed Khan when he won by submission in the first round itself. The final fight of the second night was one of the toughest in CCF history as Goa’s Pushka Bhosle took on Himanshu Kaushik from Delhi and won to the delight of the crowd.
