 "FCC founder Prashant Kumar")
As non-cricket sports get traction in the country, fight sports are gaining focus. While international wrestling federations like TNA Wrestling and WWE have announced live events in the country in December 2015 and January 2016 respectively, the country will also see its first ever domestic wrestling league – Pro Wrestling League, which kicks off next month. Adding variety to the fights sports genre will be the Full Contact Championship (FCC), a mixed martial arts league.
FCC already exists as an event-based championship started by lawyer-turned-filmmaker Prashant Kumar. It was recently bought by Sliver Kick Entertainment LLP, a company owned by Binoy Khimji, who is also a director Cornerstone Sport & Entertainment (the agency that handles cricketers like Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and Umesh Yadav) and his partner Joy Kapur.
“Until now, the championship was carried out at a small scale. It had a very ‘underground’ feel to it. I want to make it more organised. While the appeal seems niche right now, there is scope to get more viewers. What is encouraging is that even in the 400-500 people in the audience for these events, almost 30-35 per cent are women,” says Khimji.
Unlike Raj Kundra’s Super Fight League, Khimji wants to keep it simple and comparatively ‘glamour-free’ for now. In 2012 years back, Kundra started the Super Fight League with actor Sanjay Dutt. The league aired on Viacom18’s Hindi general entertainment channel Colors for one season and thereafter, has been telecast on ESPN. It also has an ongoing contract with online video steaming portal YouTube where the events are streamed.
The FCC league is expected to kick off sometime end of next year and before that, Khimji plans to organise city-based events to scout talent and create visibility. The brand is already established in the market, but needs to be pushed to the right audiences. “Unlike the WWE or TNA matches, these are more rustic and appeal to the basic human nature. The events will focus on developing the sport at the grassroots level. We don’t want to hold the events at five star venues of give any affluent connotation to it. Only then will more people be drawn to it,” he explains.
The league, which will call for Rs 6-8 crore investment in the first season, will have eight teams with eight fighters each facing off at different venues. Each team will have six Indian male, one Indian female and one international fighter (mostly an ex-UFC – Ultimate Fight Championship fighter). The final format of the league is yet to be decided. Consequently, the broadcast rights for the FCC league have also not been put on the market yet.
“The focus of the pre-league events is to popularise the sport, get some conversations on. Preliminary talks have resulted in interest from brands and corporates. Currently, companies such in fitness and health sector like Chisel (a chain of gyms) and tech companies in gaming like Nazaara have agreed to partner with FCC,” adds Khimji.
The pre-league events will take place in tier-2 and mini metro cities across India, apart from cities like Mumbai, where the championship has a small but loyal base. A total of eight such events will be held, with next one being in Mumbai on December 12.
