SHIMLA: After our own Great Khali, the journey of this milkman’s son from a remote nondescript Indian village to California to Shanghai has come as an inspiration for those youngsters who feel adrenaline rush.
This story is that of Sumit Kumar, a milkman’s son from a nondescript Indian village.
He has created niche for himself in a short span of time: He is an invincible MMA (Mixed Martial Art) fighter.
Summit is a wrestler and a Jiu Jitsu top performer, all rolled into one.
He has inherited his wrestling “DNA” from his Pahalwan Dada, an unsung 'Pindu Pahalwan' of repute in his area, who was a main force behind Sumit.
Summit Kumar has remained undefeated as a professional.
He has logged a record 7 wins and 0 loses to his MMA kitty so far.
Known as a great grappler, Sumit has been a national champion of India in Jiu Jitsu, which is recognised by the Jiu-Jitsu Association of India.
Jiu Jitsu is Japanese unarmed combat and training, which literally means a gentle modern art.
Although he is an exceptional Jiu-Jitsu performer, Sumit’s formidable background in wrestling is what influences his style the most.
Sumit is currently ranked as the 6th top flyweight MMA fighter in South Asia.
He is also the only Indian fighter followed by UFC (ultimate Fighting Championship) President, Mr Dana White.
Hailing from the village of Ajroi in Sasni, Uttar Pradesh, Sumit’s father is a milkman. Sumit’s grandfather was a wrestler and at the age of 12, he introduced Sumit to wrestling in his village.
Sumit was selected in Army Boys Sports Company in Nashik as a wrestler.
After a few years, Sumit gave his dream a new wing to sharpen his fighting skills: He travelled to Colorado Springs, USA to train himself in wrestling at the Olympic Training Centre.
Sumit then decided for transition to Mixed Martial Arts because there was no UFC champion from India.
He in fact had a dream to become the first Indian UFC champion.
In order to achieve this goal, Sumit started training at Team Alpha Male in Sacramento, California, USA under the guidance of UFC Hall of Fame, Urijah Faber.
Later Dwayne Atencio and Mohit Soni, after some discussion, agreed to become his Managers. They now sponsor Sumit and handle his professional matters.
It has been an uphill task for Sumit. He has travelled across the world and attended training camps in Thailand, the USA, Brazil and most recently in UK to prepare himself for his bouts.
Today, Sumit Kumar is the first Indian flyweight contender to represent India UFC’s “Road to UFC” in Shangai, China on 27th May.
He will be fighting against South Korea’s Seung Guk Choi in the 57kg flyweight division.
Sumit’s opponent won two fights in the previous “Road to UFC” and narrowly missed out on a UFC contract by losing in the final.
It is Col (Retd.) Kuldeep Banshtu, an OSD to Chief Minister(security), Delhi, who has been guiding Summit by preparing his paper works for the new game.
We wish all success to Summit for his dream event at Shanghai billed for May 27th this year.