Featherweight Nelson Paes is one of the most popular MMA fighters in India. Nelson is riding a three-fight win streak with two nasty knockouts. His last fight was in January at Desert Force 20, where he was a heavy underdog, but despite that he dominated his opponent Khudoum Al Kaabi for three rounds to win via unanimous decision and managed to make India’s first ever win at an international MMA event. Apart from that, in August he defeated experienced Australian fighter Ash Litchfield at the Thai Boxing International Fight Night at Patong Boxing Stadium in Phuket. I recently managed to have a conversation with Nelson and learnt much about this real life superhero’s life.
MMA is not a very popular sport in India. What got you into MMA?
As a kid I was always wanted to be a sports man. I played various games, also represented my state Goa in football and hockey. But after higher secondary I started working to support my family, as I was the only man in the house and had to support three sisters and my mother. I worked at different firms like BPO where I managed to make a financially stable life. But after years of working in BPO I realized that I had gone too far away from my dream and this was not the life I wanted to live.
That is when one of my friends informed me about MMA. I went and attended one of the lectures, it was amazing, I always wanted to be a sports man but could not make the decision. So I had to decide that whether I was willing to live a life which I never wanted or pursue my dreams. I played a huge gamble and decided to dedicate my life towards the sport. After that it was no looking back.
Who was your motivation and influence? Describe your journey so far?
My mother and my elder sister has been a great Influence in my journey. My sole motivation behind giving my best shot in every fight is to make sure my mother gets everything she deserves. I was raised by a single my mother along with my three sisters. I have seen my mother work very hard and face a lot of hardship just to ensure that I had the best education. She believed in me and was sure that I would be successful and make her proud. I want to make sure that her hard work does not go to waste and want her to live a new life, a life which she can live with her head held high!
My elder sister has also been someone who has influenced me a lot. She was like a second mother to me. My mum had to go out for work and hence when she was not around my elder sister would look after me and motivate me to chase my dreams. She has helped me a lot and it is because of her that I stand here today as the person who I am.
My journey as an MMA fighter has not been a smooth one, I started my career with two losses and it was very depressing in the beginning. I took some time off trained and returned and now I am on a three-fight win streak. My journey has been full of various emotions from the excitement and joy of winning to sleepless nights because of depressive losses and disappointing performance. But nothing lasts forever and things will always change.
Did people around you support the decision of you taking MMA as a career?
I really did not care much about what people around me thought about my decision, the only person whom I cared about was my family. In the beginning they were not sure about me taking MMA as a career. It didn’t sound normal to them; they just saw the violent side of MMA as they didn’t know the sport much. Apart from that they were concerned about me getting hurt, I am the youngest in the house, hence I was like a baby boy to my family. But when they saw my dedication towards the sport and when they realized that I was willing to accept the damage they changed their mind. They became very supportive and have gone on to become my biggest strength.
You are one of the fair few Indians who take combat sport as a career, can you give your opinion on why Indian masses do not select combat sport as a career option?
It’s an individual full-contact sport, meaning you will get hurt. Hence it takes a lot of courage and heart to be a fighter and to keep fighting. Parents too do not promote this sport as they think their kid will get hurt and will not recover from the injuries. One of the major reasons for such mentality is the fact that people do not know much about combat sports and hence have developed a fear towards it. As children are not given exposure towards this sport hence they do not know that they can create a career in this industry.
What are your thoughts on the state of MMA in India?
MMA in India is at its very inception. The sport has been introduced to the masses not long ago, it is hence not very popular. As people come to know more about the sport, a special credit to movies like Sultan, people are taking a look at MMA. I am pretty sure that the state of MMA will improve a lot in near future, and within four-to-five years it will be a big thing.
Your career started on a very low note. You suffered two back to back losses. Yet you continued and now are on a three-fight win streak. What gave you the confidence of continuing? What helped you bounce back from these losses?
I started my MMA career with raw talent. I had no experience as an amateur and had never been involved in any combat sport. I directly got involved with some of the highest ranked fighters in India, hence I lost, but slowly I started learning and learned from my mistakes. Sure it would be great to have the tag of ‘unbeaten’ next to my name but I just look at myself in the mirror and tell myself, ‘Hey Nelson you are destined for bigger things just be honest to yourself work hard and stay extremely focused.’ This helped me a lot in recovering from losses. Hence I could focus on my mistakes and now I can say I am ready for challenges of the next level.
What are your plans for your career as a MMA fighter for the next year?
I have signed up with Desert Force and plan on to continue over there for some time. My mission right now is to win the Desert Force title at my weight category and am training very hard for the same. I may soon be fighting in November for the promotion.
As a sports man what is your ultimate dream?
As a sports man my ultimate dream is to be that celebrity which attracts the attention of the Indian youth towards this sport. I want to be that pioneer whom youngsters look up to and act as a role model. I want to be the best fighter in my division and act as an inspiration. Last and the most important I want to make my family and my country proud by becoming a world champion.
What is your message to youngsters who are aspiring to pursue MMA as a career?
First of all, I applaud them for taking that decision.
My message to them is…
-protect yourself all times
-train hard and honestly
-and most important keep the fighting in the gym!!
Thanks for your time Nelson.
Paarth Pande
(@PandePaarth)