Afshan Fathima breaks social shackles to take her place among MMA’s elite

Mixed martial arts were never on the horizon for the 23-year-old from Anna Nagar in Chennai. Even sport wasn’t really part of the picture.

Afshan Fathima defied odds, reaching the final of IMMAF World Championships despite challenges and stereotypes. | Photo Credit: Instagram

Afshan Fathima walked away from her very first bout of the 2024 IMMAF World Championships in Uzbekistan last week not only with a win but also with a prodigious, rapidly darkening contusion under her eye. Although the injury was caused by an accidental headbutt rather than a punch from her opponent, many thought it meant the end of her campaign in the women’s strawweight division (52.2kg) at her debut World Championship.

“Everyone who saw me thought I wasn’t going to be declared medically fit to take part in the next bout. But I did make it. And then after I won that bout, everyone thought my injury was not going to let me compete in the next bout. After every bout I fought, the other fighters thought I wasn’t going to be able to make the next round because of how big the swelling had got. But I kept doing this. There was no way I was going to quit,” she says.

By the time Afshan’s campaign at the IMMAF World Championships ended, she had gone further than any other Indian – reaching the final –at the premier global amateur competition in mixed martial arts. Amongst her wins, was a guillotine choke submission of Ireland’s Lisa Murtagh who trains at the prestigious SB Gym– with the same team as former UFC champion Connor McGregor – and picked up a decision win over reigning World champion Matilda Bachurina of Kazakhstan in the semifinals.

Afshan however couldn’t return from the competition with the gold medal she had hoped for. She ended up losing the final by a narrow points decision to Isabel Calvo of Spain. “Unfortunately, the day of my final coincided with the start of my period. It was pretty bad. I was puking and had really bad cramps. I wasn’t anything close to 100 percent,” she says. Afshan says she returned from the tournament with mixed emotions. “It stings of course to go so far and fall short in the final but at the same time, I’m a little happy that I at least came this far,” she says.

Few might not have predicted Afshan would get anywhere near where she’s gotten. “Even I wouldn’t,” she says.

Mixed martial arts were never on the horizon for the 23-year-old from Anna Nagar in Chennai. Even sport wasn’t really part of the picture. “There’s no one in my family who has chosen sports as a career,” says Afshan, the eldest of three sisters. That was the case for her as well. It wasn’t as if she wasn’t interested in sport. Some of her earliest memories are of watching WWE pro wrestling matches with her father and uncle. At school, she says she was one of the few children to actually make the most of the games period.

“Most of the other kids would be chatting with each other or catching up on their studies. I was the only one who would pester the games teacher to start a basketball match or something. I was also someone who used to roughhouse with my friends. They’d all tell me I was really strong or that I hit really hard. But I didn’t know what I was going to do with that. While I really wanted to play something, my family only really wanted me to study. My grandmother was a teacher and my aunt was a lecturer. I was also fairly good in studies so I had no option but to focus on my books. Perhaps if I was a bit dull, they might have been more open to the idea of putting me in sports,” she says.

It was only after her school when she began studying for a degree in Electrical Engineering at Hindustan Institute of Technology that Afshan says she finally got the chance to pursue her passion.

“I always wanted to do some sort of fitness activity. So, in my third year of college I joined a crossfit gym. The gym where I trained also had a sign for mixed martial arts classes although they didn’t have any instructors. That was the first time I had heard about mixed martial arts. Although they didn’t have classes at the gym. I did a Google search and found out about Combat Kinetics Chennai and coach Ajit Sigamani,” she says.

At that time, Afshan says she told her parents she was just staying back to play basketball in her college since she knew the alternative would be something they would never agree with.

“I’m from an extremely orthodox Muslim family. Back when I was in school and in college I would wear the burkha. I couldn’t even think of leaving the house if I wasn’t wearing the burkha. While my parents were supportive of my education, they would have drawn the line at my getting into a sport like martial arts. So I used to wear the burkha when I left home. Then, when I went into the gym, I would change into my gear and back into the burkha when I was heading back home. It almost felt like I was living two lives. I tried to balance those two lives as much as possible. I knew I would have to tell my family eventually but I was hoping I could ease them into it,” she says.

It was at the Combat Kinetics Gym though where she felt she truly belonged. “Because I had been somewhat sporty in the past, I didn’t really struggle getting physically in shape. I enjoyed doing all the push ups and pull ups. I absolutely loved actual combat training. A lot of our training in MMA is mixed gender and I sometimes would think just how scandalised my family would be if they walked in on one of our grappling sessions. But, I genuinely didn’t think too much about it when I started. I just got on with it. It wasn’t as though I’d stopped becoming religious or stopped praying but I think it’s what’s inside your heart that counts a lot more than what you are wearing on the outside,” she says.

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Afshan says she knew she was someone who was meant to be a fighter when she stepped into the fighting cage for her first sparring session. “In contrast to a lot of the other individuals who were starting out, I was also someone who wasn’t scared of sparring. A lot of beginners are scared of being hit. They close their eyes and turn their head. When they get hit on the face for the first time, they decide, this isn’t what they want to do with their life. But fighting just came naturally to me,” she says.

Within a few months of training, Afshan was sure combat sports was what she wanted to do with her life. | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

Her biggest fight though would come outside the cage when her parents eventually found out that she was training in mixed martial arts. “My dad freaked out. There was a lot of screaming and shouting. They took away my phone and I wasn’t allowed to leave the house for a week. But I kept insisting that I would go and eventually my parents gave in,” she says.

Over time, Afshan’s parents have come to terms with her choices. “I don’t think my father and mother were personally against my taking up MMA. I think they were more concerned about what the society I came from would think about what I did. I think they first thought it was a weird sort of fad that I had picked up. Initially, as a compromise my father would drive me to the classes and bring me back right after. Later though, I learned how to drive a motorcycle and began to go myself. That gave him the confidence that I was really serious about what I was doing,” she says.

Within a few months of training, Afshan says she was sure combat sports was what she wanted to do with her life. “I can say I was a quick learner. As part of our training, we usually compete in boxing, judo and wrestling competitions. Within a few months of training, my coach entered my name in a district level competition in boxing. Although I was nervous since I hadn’t competed before, I ended up winning. Another few months later, I competed at my first national amateur championships in Lucknow that once again I ended up winning,” she says.

While the gold medal she won in Lucknow earned her some level of respect at home, Afshan knew it will always be hard for her parents to completely come to terms with her career. That was her key to becoming as independent as possible. “My parents have already gone far beyond their comfort zone to even accept that I can be an MMA fighter. Sometimes when they see me in shorts, they will grumble and say they gave me too much freedom. I like to live life on my own terms. I’ve never asked my parents for any money to fund my training or competition. My dad used to be in business but he had to shut that down after he made a lot of losses. I also have two younger sisters, who my parents are responsible for. At first, I used to beg my coach to charge me a nominal fee. I promised I’d pay him back when I started earning. After graduation, I worked in sales for Jaguar India but I realised I wasn’t getting the time to train like I wanted. I then started working as a coach in my MMA gym itself. MMA isn’t a sport where as an athlete you get easily sponsored by the government or private organisations. So, if I have to compete in competitions, I have to raise my own funds,” she says.

Afshan says she had to save up for a year in order to pay for her fight camp, nutrition, travel and competition fees for her first IMMAF World Championships this year.

It’s not been an easy journey and Afshan has to keep herself motivated even when it’s not the easiest to. Within her family, Afshan says she is a bit of a polarising figure. “Just because I’m a fighter doesn’t mean everyone’s opinion has changed. My family is still very conservative. A lot of people wonder why I’m still not married. Both my younger sisters wear the hijab and most of my cousins still wear the burkha. My relatives tell them not to hang around with me because I’m seen as a bit of a bad influence. My mother loves me but she will still come up to me and say that I should retire as a fighter and get married. But she doesn’t understand that I’ve only just started,” she says.

Afshan though doesn’t have any regrets. She’s already looking to her next target – turning professional. “The amateur system is mostly a way to get some sort of experience. I think I’m a fairly well-rounded fighter. The next level for a fighter is to turn professional. My coach and I are still weighing our options. We have some offers but I’m still to decide whether I want to compete for one more World Championship and win a gold or take the jump into professional fighting,” she says.

The professional ranks will be yet another giant step for Afshan to climb. She’s looking forward to it. “There’s this quote I always try to live by. It’s that the mountains you carry are the ones you have to climb. There’s no point taking pressure because of everything that I had to get through to get to where I am. When I look back, I think to myself ‘Wow, I’ve broken so many stereotypes not just for women but for Muslim women in particular. Every once in a while, some woman will come up to me and say she lives through me or that she wants her child to become like me. That gives me a lot of motivation. I’ve faced some hard obstacles. I can deal with next to anything,” she says.