India Vs Pakistan in Brave CF: Is MMA the way forward for the fierce rivals?

India and Pakistan are arguably the biggest rivals in sporting history. This rivalry dates back to seven decades and began in the Hockey and Cricket grounds and is now seen in pretty much every sport including MMA. The game of cricket has long ago trailblazed the process of building bonds between two of the biggest rivals in sporting history. The increase in engagement between fans in India & Pakistan did help heal some of the wounds of the past, albeit there have been instances of hate and violence also involved in it.

But cricket at large has only catalyzed the growth of cordial relationship amongst these Nations. A perfect example of this transpires today and is in the media limelight. Navjot Singh Sidhu, a former Indian cricket star and also the present minister of culture, in the Indian state of Punjab, has been operating as a peacemaker between the Indian and the Pakistani corner for long. On the other side, we have another celebrity sporting figure doing his best in this regard. The new prime minister of Pakistan Imran Khan, who was also the former Pakistan National cricket team captain.

I thank the Govt. of India from the core of my heart and take a bow! I request the Hon’ble PM of Pakistan @ImranKhanPTI Sahib to take reciprocal steps for opening the Kartarpur Sahib corridor and spread Baba Nanak’s message of universal brotherhood and peace across the Globe.

— Navjot Singh Sidhu (@sherryontopp) November 22, 2018

This bond between these sporting veterans is clearly giving out strong signs of hope at this difficult times when there are increasing instances of border skirmishes and diplomatic backlashes among the two nuclear powers. The cricketers did show us the right path, and it looks like the days of cricket-diplomacy are getting over. It's time for Mixed martial arts to take over crickets spot and ameliorate the rising tension between these two fierce rivals.

This may sound ludicrous, but some very significant milestones have been attained in this regard. During the WSOF Global Championship held in the Philippines, the Pakistani MMA star Uloomi Karim and his Indian counterpart Yadwinder Singh symbolically raised each other's National flags after their intense fight. Uloomi who won that night stated in an exclusive interview to Sportskeeda that, "Peace won that day".

Uloomi Karim is one of the strongest proponents of peace between India and Pakistan and is on a personal mission to educate his fans about the immense potential for peace through sports. These gestures, especially after intense fist fights can definitely speak a lot about the fighters mentality and can easily win the heart of spectators from either side of the border. It also helps the spectators to think of the possibility to make peace after years of strained relationships and can open up new corridors of engagement and peace amongst the fans.

Brave 17 held in Lahore, Pakistan witnessed the first mixed martial arts event held in Pakistan and showcased local stars facing International talents. Not only did multiple Pakistani fighters get forward with wins but they also showcased dominant performances and even called out Indian fighters. Mehmosh Raza set a record for the fastest submission and fastest finish in the promotion against Arben Escayo at a mere 23 seconds and send a strong message to the Indian MMA community.

"We got what we need to take over this business. Get me an Indian fight. Pakistan versus India. Who wants to see blood?"

An important observation to be noted here is that no Indian fighter has responded to this as of now. But there are strong signs from the Kingdom of Bahrain which is showing that we may get to see an exclusive "India Vs Pakistan" card very soon. Most likely in a neutral territory other than these two Nations due to the strict visa norms for each other's residents in both India & Pakistan.

Brave CF will host the 20th edition of the event in India on 22nd December at the Gachibowli Indoor Stadium in Hyderabad. With major fights announced, India is set to host the biggest mixed martial arts event in the history of the Nation. The event marks the return of Brave CF to India. And this time, the MMA community in Pakistan is closely following the event in India.

The founder and the head coach of Pakistan's Fight Fortress gym, Ali Sultan stated today that he would like to see a fighter from Pakistan on the Brave 20 card as it will be a huge step toward promoting MMA on a huge scale in both countries. This will definitely be a big boost for the promotion of MMA fights between the nations and this will set a clear precedent for the subsequent matchups to follow.

Thanks to Brave CF, the conditions are becoming very favourable for both the Indian and Pakistani MMA community to engage. And this heated rivalry will bring in millions of eyeballs into these matchups. The idea of two fierce enemies getting into intense fist fight will blow up in the subcontinent and may even eclipse other sports in due time.

But the right way to look at this should be as an opportunity from the Brave Nation to India and Pakistan to start doing things right, to create more people to people engagement via fights and to set a precedent for rest of the Nation to follow. Let's not spend billions on weapons to attain deterrence against each other, rather try spending a small part of it in sports and create more friendly engagement among its people.

The Brave 20 fight card is stacked with Indian fighters going against credible names in global MMA including, Kantaraj Agasa facing Jalal Al Daaja, Abdul Muneer facing Ali Qaisi and Keith Lee facing Angad Bisht. The event will have the largest global broadcast coverage for a mixed martial arts event in India.

And let us hope for some big announcements from the top brass in Bahrain which can be a major milestone in the modern history of these Nations. As Uloomi Karim rightly pointed out, "Peace through sports" is the way forward for India and Pakistan.