Super Fight League India 2017: Schedule, TV listings, all you need to know about the MMA competition

Bellator MMA and UFC have ruled the mixed martial arts scene for long. Invicta FC, One FC also slowly started dominating the combat sports scene. All that happened outside India. Indian MMA fans have, for long, craved for a well-known competition that gives home-grown fighters the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. 

They feel that in a land where kalaripayattu and yoga originated, having a good enough MMA competition is definitely needed. 

Read: MMA events listing for 2017

Over the years, small-scale tournaments like the Full Contact Championship (FCC) have taken place at a few Indian cities, such as Kolkata, Delhi, and Mumbai. But an event hasn't been organised at a great scale so far, mainly due to lack of sponsors.

Then came Raj Kundra, who collaborated with Bollywood star Sanjay Dutt, to start a competition called Super Fight League (SFL) in 2012. After some good initial months, things started falling apart — the public interest fell, sponsors backed out and fighters complained of not getting paid. 

The tournament went off to the United States after some time. It now returns to India once again, this time with promoters Bill Dosanjh, British Indian business tycoon and veteran British pro boxer Amir Khan.

Kundra and Dutt are no more a part of this.

"India has a lot of talent in mixed martial arts which we are going to witness this season. I am proud of the fact that with this competition we are giving young talent an opportunity to exhibit their prowess," said Amir Khan.

"India has always shown potential in combat sports and hopefully we churn out some superstars in the first season," he added.

Super Fight League India 2017

Taking cue from the Indian Premier League, the Indian Super League, the Pro Kabaddi as well as the Premier Badminton League, the MMA league provides a mega chance for Indian stars to showcase their striking, grappling as well as ground n pound skills.

A total of eight franchisees from India will participate in the event. They are divided into two groups of four teams. Six fighters (five male and one female) are a part of the teams. Following the group games, comes the knockout phase.

Fighters' weight divisions

Male: Bantamweight (125-135 pounds)

Featherweight (135-145 pounds)

Lightweight (145-155 pounds)

Welterweight (155-170 pounds)

Light Heavyweight (185-205 pounds)

Female: Women's Flyweight (115-125 pounds)

Teams

Schedule of matches

TV listings

Sony ESPN/HD, Sony Max (India)

Live streaming 

Sony Liv