“I grew up learning martial arts and it gave me the image of an action hero” – Suniel Shetty on hosting MX Player’s Kumite 1 Warrior Hunt

MX Player’s content arm, MX Studios is all set to bring for its viewers India’s first MMA Reality Series – Kumite 1 Warrior Hunt, hosted by Suniel Shetty. While the series releases on 12th February, MX Player recently hosted a huge Press Conference in Mumbai. Host Suniel Shetty, renowned sports personalities Mahavir Singh Phogat, The Great Khali and Ritu Phogat, graced the press conference with their presence.

Talking about hosting the MMA reality series, Suniel Shetty said, “I grew up learning martial arts and that itself is something that gave me an opportunity and the image of an action hero in Hindi cinema, so I owed it to that. And then the breakup of martial arts, boxing, escape boxing, jiu jitsu and so many different formats. When you talk about MMA, it’s coming together of all these formats to prove which one is not better than the other or which one probably is more effective than the other one. And that’s why I keep saying wrestling, wrestling, wrestling, wrestling, because that’s about grabbing, less about power, less about grip, and hence I focus on the never say die approach. I felt I needed to start something on this stage of my career in a few years that I didn’t even work. I wanted to give back, and I wanted to give back in a big way. The show is one way of nurturing talent from small towns; India has so much, but they don’t get an opportunity. So for me, it is about opportunity for these kids and to bring about a change.”

The seasoned actor, who is an MMA enthusiast, revealed that the MMA fighters are like his children and he takes inspiration from them. “All these are like my children. I cry for each one and I clap for each one. It’s more about the beauty, it’s the love and passion for the sport, and I also take inspiration from them. I take inspiration from them. The difference between India and any other place is we talk about coaches but yours Guru se he sab shuru hota hai to Jeet guaranteed hai. I am not surprised that an Indian girl has conquered the world of UFC. This is just the beginning and hopefully the Kumite 1 Warrior Hunt will be the beginning. I call Khali bhai (The Great Khali) ‘little gentle giant’ and we need people like him to come forward and support these kinds of sports.”

Kumite 1 Warrior Hunt will witness 16 top male and female MMA athletes compete for a title while being trained by renowned MMA coaches – Bharat Khandare and Pawan Maan. The six-episode series will give viewers a first-hand insight into the hardships faced by these athletes in their MMA journey with stories of survival, passion and courage, thus making the series extremely relatable. This series further showcases the hardships and emotions that MMA fighters deal with while balancing their personal lives and their desire to participate in MMA tournaments.