Staff Reporter
ITANAGAR, 22 Aug: The second edition of the popular mixed martial arts (MMA) event, Aturto, is back with Aturto 1.2, which will be held in Ziro in Lower Subansiri district on 26 August.
The first edition had been conducted in April this year.
Aturto is an organisation that promotes MMA in the state.
Addressing a press conference at the Arunachal Press Club here on Monday, Aturto founder and CEO Higio Tarak said that “Aturto 1.2 will be bigger than the previous one.”
He informed that 16 fights will take place and 32 fighters from various parts of India will participate in the event.
“Besides Arunachalee fighters, we will have participants from other NE states, besides from Bengaluru and Delhi. The Global Association for MMA (GAMMA) India is providing technical input for the event,” informed Tarak.
He informed that the fights will be divided into three categories: amateur, semi-professional and professional.
There will be two major fights, which will be the main attraction. “The main event will be the fight between two popular fighters Jowkhum Dili Singpho of Arunachal and Frankly Momin of Meghalaya. The co-main event is a fight between Diyo Rimo Matam of Arunachal and Tulasidhas Ningombam Singh of Manipur,” said Taarak.
On MMA as a sport, he said, “People have this wrong notion that MMA is a very risky sport. But this is a very safe sport and very few cases of serious injuries have been reported. We are taking all precautions, including crowd management, for the Aturto event.”
Aturto is providing a platform to the budding MMA players of the state to showcase their skills and gain entry to bigger platforms, he added.
The chief operating officer of Aturto, Dhananjay Morang, who also addressed the PC, said that events like Aturto not only promote sports but also encourage people to take care of their physical and mental health.
“Today, mental health is becoming a very serious concern among the youths. Through MMA and events like Aturto, youths get engaged in meaningful activities. This helps them to overcome many personal problems, including addiction and mental illness,” said Morang.
He said also that MMA is a fast-growing sport and the players have potential to make a living not only from the prize money “but through self-promotional activities.”
