Super Fight League -SFL 1 – India’s Spin on an MMA Show

Super Fight League -SFL 1 – India’s Spin on an MMA Show

Published on March 12, 2012 by The Coffee Boy in NEWS, Super Fight League

Super Fight League: SFL 1 – India’s Spin on MMA

Leading up to this event, there was a lot of hype surrounding it and this included some rather WWE-styled promos and a bunch of names most of us have never heard of. The event was, however, one worth watching, as it had a unique take on mixed martial arts and provided us with some exciting fights, interesting performances, and events to look forward to.

First, here are the results to last night’s event:

1) Xavier Foupa-Pokam def. Joey Guel via TKO (cut) at the end of round 1.

2) Jimy Ambriz def. Satish Jha via TKO (punches) in round 1.

3) Lakwinder Sekhon def. Madura Rathnayake via TKO (punches) in round 1.

4) Mohammed Shahid def. Myura Dissanayake via Majority Decision

5) Chaitanya Gavali def. Tiran Thakshala via Unanimous Decision

6) Travis Bell def. Neil Natasadu via Submission (forearm choke) in round 2.

7) Sanja Sucevic def. Lena Ovchynnikova via Submission (rear naked choke) in round 2.

8) James Thompson def. Bob Sapp via Submission (takedown) in round 1.

All in all, the event was pretty exciting and provided us with some fun fights and performances. Let’s take a look at what was good, bad, and what to look forward to.

The Good

Firstly, the event intrigued me mainly because I wanted to see what kind of spin on mixed martial arts SFL would have. They brought on performances in between fights which was different, to say the least. But it really wasn’t bad. I mean, you’re never going to see a rock band, much less Indian dancers in the middle of the UFC octagon. It provided the crowd with entertainment while fighters were getting ready.

Secondly, I liked the walk-ins to the “O-Zone”. They had flashy lights and fire blazing all over the place, and it made the walk-ins that much more exciting and, well, epic. It was sort of like a Strikeforce walk-in, just a little more flashy. It would have been better if the fighters sort of went along with all the hype of their walk-in, but overall it was good.

Next, while the fights weren’t the best, they did a good job of matchmaking the first events fights. Most of them I would say didn’t look like top-level fights, but they were exciting for the most part. Six out of the eight fights were finished by either TKO or submission, and the crowd seemed to really be getting into it even though most of them were being exposed to a whole new kind of combat sport.

Lastly, Phil Baroni. His color commentating was surprisingly really good. He was clear, straight to the point, and wasn’t afraid to engage in a little banter here and there. I hope they keep him on the show.

The Bad

The event wasn’t without flaws, and some of you may see this as nitpicking, but honestly most people would agree with me, on some of my points at least.

The introduction to the event was slow. There was a lot of unnecessary talking and emceeing. I understand that they are trying to educate the audience on the sport of MMA, but they could have done it better. Solution: explain the rules the way the UFC does it at the beginning of their events.

Also, there were a lot of awkward moments, such as the ring announcer almost announcing the wrong person as the winner of the bout, the unnecessary “meet-and-greet” before the main event conducted by a lady with celebrities in the crowd, and lack of communication was clear as Phil Baroni was trying to explain what happened in a bout during the replay, but it was interrupted with the speedy announcement of the next bout by the announcer in the ring.Solutions: get the ring announcer to focus, do not have that lady go around talking to the crowd again making everything uncomfortable with petty jokes, and the team putting the event together needs to have better communication with each other.

Next, while the matches were fairly exciting, I hope they do plan on building a proper roster. It is good that they are building up their own talent, but most of them are very inexperienced and probably needed more time on the smaller circuits. It was announced that SFL has signed Todd Duffee, Trevor Prangley and Baga Agaev. This is a good start, but they’ll need plenty more fighters to create a decent roster and keep the interest of people around the globe in their promotion. Solution: Look for fighters ONE FC hasn’t already signed, or look to America for fighters whose careers are coming to an end. Mix that in with new, young talent to build respectable rosters.

Lastly, I understand that Bob Sapp is a big name and is a “legend” of sorts in Asian MMA. But he really isn’t performing well, and is more of a showman than anything. Yes, he is great at hyping fights. Yes, he has epic stare-downs. Yes, he looks beastly. But quite honestly, was it worth the money? His fight against James Thompson was short and to be honest, pretty much a downer. He submitted after being taken down, supposedly because he injured himself. While there is no shame in losing, it just isn’t a good idea to have someone with a bad losing streak headline an event for a promotion that plans to stick around for a while. They should have brought in someone else to face Thompson, someone like Todd Duffee, whom they have already signed. That would have made for a better fight. Solution: Big names are fine to bring in for headliners, but make sure they can still put up a decent fight.

What To Look Forward To

SFL has proven they can put on fun events, all they need to do is patch up a couple obvious flaws here and there, and it can be a solid promotion worth very, very soon. The hype, the cheesy promos, the performances, and the new blood just wanting to get out there and slug it out made SFL 1 a night to remember.

I sincerely hope that Super Fight League plans on putting up events all over Asia, and not just keep it to India. They know how to put on a fun show with fun fights. Hopefully they build respectable rosters, and MMA fans all over the world will be in for a treat every time they put on a show.