Saint Lion fighting through hurt to put India on the MMA map at Brave 9
Gurdarshan Mangat: “I don’t fight for me. I fight for my people, for my family and now for my grandmother, who passed away at the beginning of my camp.”
Everyone fights hurt. However, not all injury is physical.
Gurdarshan ‘Saint Lion’ Mangat lost his grandmother right at the beginning of camp for his fight vs. Stephen Loman at Brave 9: The Kingdom of Champions, on November 17th, in Bahrain for the promotion’s inaugural Bantamweight belt. Gary wanted to pull out of the fight, but with the support of his wife he was brave, able to maintain focus, in order to put Indians on the map in MMA.
“I don’t fight for me. I fight for my people, for my family and now for my grandmother, who passed away at the beginning of my camp,” said Mangat. “I wanted to pull out, but my amazing wife sat me down and allowed me to leave everything to focus solely on the title, on pursuing this dream I have. I’ve been isolated from everyone, just focusing on my fight and on training, splitting my time between Montreal and Vancouver and looking for the best training partners I can find.”
“I don’t know much about my opponent, other than some tapes I’ve seen of him. I know he’s somewhat of a good wrestler, he’s strong, but I don’t think he will show me something I’ve never seen before. I don’t believe he really brings anything new. I know he’s training hard because he’s got a great opportunity in front of him, but I think I’m better than him from every angle and in every single martial art. He will be surprised with me on November 17th.”
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Brave 9: The Kingdom of Champions marks the promotion’s return to Bahrain after a year. During 2017, the organization has put on groundbreaking events in Brazil (twice), Mexico, the United Arab Emirates, India, and Kazakhstan. Brave 9 will be the culmination of the International Combat Week, alongside the IMMAF World Championships, under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa.
Brave 9: The Kingdom of Champions
Main Card
Ottman Azaitar vs. Alejandro Martínez (for the inaugural lightweight title)
Elias Boudegzdame (champion) vs. Lucas Mineiro (for the featherweight title)
Gurdarshan Mangat vs. Stephen Loman (for the inaugural bantamweight title)
Jarrah Al Selawe vs. Carl Booth
Gesias Cavalcante vs. Alan Omer
Erick ‘Índio Brabo’ vs. Abdul-Kareem Al-Selwady
Mohammad Fakhreddine vs. Tahar Hadbi
Prelim Card
Mohammad Farhad vs. Hamza Kooheji
Felipe Efrain vs. Nawras Abzakh
Ahmed Amir vs. Erik Carlsson
Frans Mlambo vs. Michael Deiga-Scheck
Jeremy Smith vs. Ikram Aliskerov
Hardeep Rai vs. Alex Trinidad
Charlie Leary vs. Daniele Scatizzi
Jeremy Pacatiw vs. Jalal Al Daaja
Atif Mohammed vs. Haider Farman