Indian MMA Fighter Spotlight: Surendra Kumar opens up about his career so far

LockerRoom Team
Calendar Icon11 Jul 2020

The Olympic Medal from Mary Kom back in the 2012 London Olympics is what got Surendra Kumar into combat sports. A year later, in 2013, he competed in combat sports for the first time and there was no looking back.

He has so far competed in multiple events including AIMMAA National Championships, Reebok Fight Night, and KCL among others collecting more than 20 wins in amateur and two wins in the professional scene. Here’s Surendra Kumar detailing his combat sports journey so far.


Discovering MMA in Delhi

When I saw in the newspaper in 2012 about MC Mary Kom winning the medal in the Olympics, I got motivated and searched in Google for a boxing academy near me. First, I did not know about MMA, I only knew about Karate and Boxing. So I went to a nearby academy called Fearout and joined boxing classes. I saw that some of them were doing kicks, wrestling and Grappling. So I asked my coach Ashok Kumar about the same and that’s how I came across MMA.

Keeping it as a secret from the Family

In the starting 1 year, I didn't tell my family that I joined the academy, I said I joined computer class instead of Boxing. After one year, when I got my 1st silver medal in the AIMMAA championship, I revealed it to them. My family said this is nice but added that I should focus on my studies. My mom was scared of me getting injured every day and asked to stop fighting. I agreed with them but when they shifted back to Bihar, I restarted MMA and took up a job in a call centre.

The struggles he faced when he started out

I was alone in Delhi, doing my job and MMA. My salary was only Rs. 7000, so I faced an issue related to money to balance my diet, rent and expenses. Sometimes, my coach Ashok Kumar used to support me and I also started teaching people MMA. I also had some bad injuries and surgery in my right shoulder, all of which I did with the help of my friends as I did not want to make my family in trouble.

The best memory from his Fighter Career

In every fight, we learn something new and get experience. The Reebok fight night organised by Siddharth Sir from Crosstrain Fight Club was very good. The organisation was very good and there was a lot of respect for the fighters.

His own Gym and Future plans

Now I have my own MMA Academy in Delhi named MMA warriors fight club and fitness hub. I love to compete in MMA as it is something that makes me stronger and happy. God gave us life to do something extraordinary, not to spend the whole life in a job. I wish to keep going on the same track, train more and focus on getting a big pro fight.


Indian MMA Fighter Spotlight is a series from LockerRoom India where we feature the upcoming Indian MMA fighters and share their story.

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Manav Rider
Manav Rider

Keep it my bro.. One day completely your dreams ????????????????????????????

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