Post-fight brawl leaves MMA fighter with broken jaw, ruptured eardrum: ‘They were chasing me with bricks and rods’
Srikant Sekhar was taken to a local hospital after the attack. Photo via Srikant Sekhar
Chaos erupted at Matrix Fight Night 9 this past Friday in New Delhi, resulting in criminal charges filed against fighter Abdul Azim Badakhshi and a ban of Afghan fighters.
Local MMA fighter Srikant Sekhar, who was victorious early on the fight card against Sumeet Khade, was cheering teammate Seth Rosario in a post-lim bout when he said he was harassed by Afghanis in the crowd after calling out Zahor Shah in his post-fight interview. Sekhar accuses Badakhshi of sucker-punching him as he left the arena moments after Khade was victorious in his bout.
At that point, Sekhar told MMA Fighting, he was assaulted and chased by dozens of people before he left the venue and was rescued by police. Sekhar added he was also “followed to the hospital that night.” By the end of the night, Sekhar said he suffered a fractured jaw and ruptured eardrum; he provided an image of his injuries, though MMA Fighting wasn’t able to independently verify their authenticity.
“I have plates and screws in my jaw now and it will take a while to be back,” Sekhar said via text message. “I’m basically out of work now.”
Sekhar told MMA Fighting he has filed criminal charges against Badakhshi, who did not respond a request for comments. Matrix Fight Night released a statement on its social media announcing that “no Afghan fighter will ever feature on an MFN card again” after what they called a “disturbing incident.”
“There is no sport like MMA, and any kind of disrespect and hooliganism will not be tolerated by us,” read the statement. “I have always said that MFN is a family and as such we will take care of Srikant and look forward to his speedy recovery and return to the cage.”