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Living the Fighter’s Dream – Alan Fenandes

July 22: Commonly referred to as Alan ‘THE BULL’ Fenandes, India’s first professional mixed martial art fighter, has trained every MMA fighter who has made it to the list of the top fighters. The MMA space in India has evolved greatly, with an increasing number of people choosing combat sport.

Alan Fenandes made his debut in MMA in the UK in 2004. He recalls how difficult it was to carve his niche with a relatively unknown sport in a country obsessed with cricket. However, his determination motivated him to fulfil his dream than taking up the usual route of a job for financial security.

Today, no discussion about MMA in India is complete without the mention of Alan Fenandes. He is highly passionate about the sport and works rigorously to help MMA fighters receive the training and support missing when he started.

He is a celebrity coach and has trained champions across the MMA divisions. He also promotes Matrix Fight Night, the largest MMA show in India.

MMA fighters across the country choose from his range of training offerings. His offerings include full-contact combat ishudo training, kickboxing/muay Thai, wrestling, BJJ, and comprehensive MMA training. He also coaches MMA trainers who subsequently provide online MMA coaching through reputed gyms in the country.

The best part is that neither these coaches nor Alan Fenandes stopped coaching during the pandemic. Alan helped people stay healthy physically and mentally during the tough times by offering online coaching through MMAMATRIXGYMS.

Feathers in Alan’s cap:

Alans is a mixed martial arts coach and the national coach at the All India Mixed Martial Arts Association. He has made his mark in world Martial Arts by being the first Indian to hold a grade in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. He now holds a BJJ brown belt. In the decade 2000-2010, he was revered as the best pound-for-pound fighter. In 2010, he chose active coaching as a career and retired from MMA as a professional fighter.

Alan’s role in Mixed Martial Arts in India

Alan has been instrumental in taking MMA in India to great heights. He tirelessly works towards the success of the All India Mixed Martial Arts Association’s MMA training program to produce MMA stars.

A coach with a mission:

Alan’s journey as a fighter wasn’t devoid of challenges. As a result, he vowed to be a continuous guiding light to aspiring fighters. He was leading training for pro fighters at TIGERSGYM INDIA in 2000. TIGERSGYM INDIA is India’s first pro-MMA gym. Alan also worked for the Super Fight league from 2012- 2016 as the head coach. Numerous world champions and other professional and amateur MMA athletes across India attribute their success to Alan’s training. His trainees famously refer to him as “Super Coach”. He has also trained Bollywood celebrities like Tiger Shroff, Krishna Shroff, Huma Qureshi, Disha Patani, Ishaan Khattar, etc.

Alan attributes his success to his coach Daniel Isaac who was the man behind mixed martial Arts in India. Alan is the director of operations at Matrix fight night, India’s biggest MMA promotion,  owned by Tiger Shroff and Ayesha Shroff.