Nagaland MMA fighter undergoes surgery for injury received during fight

‘Many don’t see the hard work and sacrifice that go into few minutes of fight’

Our Reporter
Dimapur, Nov. 25 (EMN): Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) fighters put themselves at risk each time they enter the cage, and also during the course of training as they regularly endure punches and kicks.

Arsenba Ozukum, who hails from Mongsenyimti village in Mokokchung district, nicknamed “Nightmare”, suffered a major blow on his nose during his fight with Dinesh Singh Naorem from Manipur at the 10th edition of Matrix Fight Night (MFN) in Dubai on November 18, for which he had to undergo a rhinoplasty surgery. 

That was his 2nd professional fight after his debut at MFN 9 in Delhi earlier this year.

Speaking to Eastern Mirror on Thursday from his hospital bed at the Eden Medical Centre in Dimapur, where he underwent the surgery a day before, the 22-year-old MMA fighter said the blow he received during the second round of the fight resulted in multiple fractures, which prompted his coach Khriemelie Metha to call off the fight. So, he said he does not consider it as a defeat.

Ozukum, who has been training at The Combat Academy (TCA) Nagaland for the last five years, said that since childhood, he was never interested in any activities including studies, which was why he could not pursue his education.

“I felt bad for myself that I had no talent but when it came to fighting I was thrilled and then I came across TCA Nagaland videos on YouTube, which motivated me further to take the chance and I joined the academy in 2017,” he recounted while acknowledging that his parents initially did not support his decision to take up the sport.

However, seeing his enthusiasm, commitment and talent towards this full-contact combat sport, his parents eventually started encouraging and supporting him.  After joining the academy in 2017, Ozukum fought his first professional fight in Delhi this year, which he won against Manipur’s Biswamitra. So far, he has fought 24 fights, as an amateur and professional fighter.

He also represented India and won two bronze medals for the country at the GAMMA Asian Championships in Kyrgyzstan and the GAMMA World Championships in Amsterdam earlier this year.

MMA, he said, is a dangerous sport so he keeps that in mind, in and out off the cage.

Dislocation of finger and toe, and blows on the face are common injuries, he added.

“Not many people notice the pain and struggle that we go through inside and outside the cage. Amateur fights last for nine minutes, while professional fights are for 15 minutes. What people calculate is just the time and not the hard work and sacrifice that go in for those few minutes.

“For the spectators, it may be a fight of 15 minutes, but for us, those 15 minutes is the result of all the sacrifices we make. Every fighter comes to win, and after the fight, no one notices or remembers the injuries that we go through,” he said.

Describing the preparation for a fight, he informed that apart from the daily training, as a fighter, he analyses the opponent, studies their advantages and disadvantages as well as body conditioning; and before the final fight, a fight camp of eight weeks is performed with the training getting gradually harder.

When asked the expenses on hospital bills, he said that since he is signed with the MFN, they have insurance, so it covers the bills.

For those wanting to join MMA, he said it is not an easy sport as one has to risk his or her body involving visible as well as invisible injuries, so they have to be prepared to endure those cons while committing themselves to hard work, imbibe discipline, change their lifestyle and have a zeal to sacrifice.

“There is nothing we cannot do but don’t follow what others are doing blindly; follow your passion,” advised the fighter, who is expected to get back to training three months from now, before resuming his professional fight.