Sangita Dhami and Kunjan Kakshapati, two amateur Nepali fighters out of Lock n Roll MMA, won their respective fights at the Immortal Fighting Championship-1 in Bengaluru, India, on Saturday night.

Kakshapati defeated India’s Inzamam Ul Huck in what was the second fight of the event.

Kakshapati, 25, entered the cage and started using his best moves. “If he takes your back, the fight is over”, Immortal FC had written about Kakshapati days before the tournament.

And it is what Kakshapati, a jiu-jitsu practitioner, tried from the very start. He grappled with Inzamam and brought him down on the ground, trying a submission move.

However, Inzamam was ready for Kakshapati’s fighting style. And he did not make it easy for Kakshapati.

Inzamam even reversed the position and had Kakshapati under a submission move. But since the neck crank is not allowed in amateur fights, the referee intervened. And when the play resumed, Kakshapati started dominating.

Kakshapati kept trying his favourites—ground-and-pound and rear-naked choke—but Inzamam managed to stay in the fight in the first two rounds.

However, as he was busy holding Kakshapati back, Inzamam was down on fuel in the third round. And when Kakshapati had Inzamam down on the mat with half of the third round remaining, he finally got a good hold with a rear-naked choke. As Inzamam drifted out of consciousness, the referee stepped in once more—this time to crown a winner.

Weighing 69.8kg at 5 feet 11 inches, Kakshapati won his maiden bout in the inaugural Immortal Fighting Championship to add another brick to the dream of becoming a professional fighter. As per the tournament, Kakshapati’s individual record is now 8-2.

And it seemed to be the result of Kakshapati’s win that his gym colleague, Dhami, felt extra motivated when she entered the ring for the fourth fight of the night.

Dhami, who won gold at the 2019 South Asian Games in wrestling, was facing Aarya Choudhary, a multi-time national champion and a World Championship bronze medallist.

And Dhami, a wrestler-turned-MMA fighter, did not have an easy time. Choudhary stood tall in the first round. She had Dhami locked in an armbar submission with 30 seconds left, leaving Dhami to wait for the round to end as he managed to keep the pain aside.

Further, Dhami was better in the second round. She had Choudhury under her for the majority of the round as she kept pounding punches.

With the two fighters dominating a round each, the third round was expected to be a crucial one. And Dhami made it count in her favour.

Dhami repeated what she did in the second round, Choudhary was again under her. And when she started pounding punches this time, the referee waved off the bout with around a minute remaining, as the barrage had done its job.