Trend Setting by K7 Redemption Fight Night
As the crowd cheered to the entry of Mubz Bajwa and Sin Noi, the air was filled with excitement. Yes the venue was K7 fight night. Though it was indeed an honor for Karachi to be hosting an MMA event of international fighters but another big feat also marked the event. Well it was the presence of trained medical personnel at the site. Well yes, we finally managed to hold the event with the requisite safety as mandated by any International level competition. It was safety on Master’s Jamil Chandio’s mind from the very start.
When I approached him last time we had a local event, he whole heartedly supported the idea. This was to be the start of fighter safety in Pak MMA. Though events have been conducted in the country but may be with little safety setup or they weren’t highlighted. A standby “Red Crescent ambulance with basic life saving equipment was standing by. Dr Farjad, who is a consultant anesthetist and also an avid martial arts player, was in our team, so we had adequately trained people on board.
All the participating members had a post fight medical evaluation. Though due to paucity of time we couldn’t have a proper pre fight checkup as mandated, but brief history sheet was filled and each fight was observed by us with the authority to stop the bout if we felt that safety of any fighter was being jeopardized.
Well, thanks to Allah there was no major mishap, but the message was loud and clear. Fighter safety is here to stay in the PAK MMA scene.
Thanks to Mr. Jamil Chandio for bucking this idea up and Mr. Bashir Ahmed for always supporting issues related to fighter safety.
It may be a while before we constitute a specific medical board and sort out the intricacies, but at least we have started in the right direction.
This article has been written by Dr. Arshad Beg who is a surgical registrar specializing in General Surgery. He works at Liaquat National Hospital Karachi and has a keen interest in MMA. You can request him to cover any health-related topic by sending an email to info@pak-mma.com