“My name is Mahboob Khan and I am a Mixed Martial Arts Fighter from Hyderabad.

Honestly, I never knew about Mixed Martial Arts until 2014. I joined the MMA training along with my friend as he was getting trained under our coach, Khalid sir. I was doubtful about myself initially. However, I went ahead with the full-time training and honestly it was a life-changing decision in my life.

I was a cab driver in the past and also worked part-time in a clothing store to support my family. My father works as a lorry driver and my mother is a homemaker. I am the oldest among our five siblings and had to take the family’s responsibility at a young age. However, when I joined the MMA, I started focusing on it full-time.

After 4 years of rigorous training and participation in many state-level tournaments, I got an opportunity to represent India in International Mixed Martial Arts Federation held in 2018 in the amateur category.

I stayed focused and performed well in all the matches. Thankfully, with my coach’s support and training, I was able to win the first International Gold Medal for India in 2018 at Bahrain. That was my first International tournament and it was the best feeling ever to win for the country.

There were a few setbacks in my career too as in 2019. During World Championship, I was disqualified from the tournament due to excess weight of just 0.2 Ibs. I would have made weight if the commission had allowed me a few extra minutes but they declined as they had strict rules. Later, due to Covid 19 pandemic, our training stopped for more than seven months.

I won a Gold in February 2021 at a national tournament in Lucknow and also represented our state in sever national tournaments.

MMA is the most underrated
a hybrid combat sport in the world. The most important thing right now is our country needs to host big tournaments and I intend to train the youngsters and support them as much as I can.”