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 was cheering on his teammate Seth Rosario during a post-lim fight when he claimed he had been harassed in the crowd by Afghanis after calling out Zahor Shah post-fight. Sekhar accuses Badakhshi of sucker-punching him as he left the arena moments after Khade was victorious in his bout.
At that time, Sekhar said to MMA Fighting that he had been chased and attacked by dozens before he fled the venue. He was eventually rescued by police. Sekhar also stated that he was “followed” to the hospital by dozens of people before he left the venue. He provided a picture of his injuries but MMA Fighting couldn’t verify them.
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Photo via Srikant Sekhar
“I have plates and screws in my jaw now and it will take a while to be back,” Sekhar said via text message. “I am basically out of work .”
Sekhar stated to MMA Fighting that he had filed criminal charges against Badakhshi. He did not reply to a request for comment. 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. MFN has always been a family. We will care for Srikant, and we look forward to Srikant’s quick recovery.
A request to comment was made to New Delhi’s police spokesperson but it wasn’t immediately answered. Sekhar said that MMA Fighting would get a copy the incident report when it became available.
Sekhar admits he said “f*** you” to Afghan fans in the audience during Khade vs. Shah, and he alleged that incited fans to throw objects at him.
” I think they didn’t like me and Zahoor also lost,” Sekhar stated. They couldn’t handle it. As Seth was finishing, I started cheering and ignored this fact. However, another person from the crowd began throwing paper or plastic at Seth. They were pointing out my shortcomings and making fun of me. They got me pissed and I said, “f*** you!” and then I flipped my head.
“Then one official caught my hand and was taking me out of cageside. He said, ‘Go out of here, this crowd is getting mad at you,’ and started escorting me out of ringside. He was taking me out and I suddenly got suckered by Abdul Badakshi. He didn’t see me coming from [and didn’t know] the place he was. He hit me twice, and I fell down. Officials pushed him to the ground and covered me. Then the crowd breaks into the arena and starts stomping me.
” My teammates and officials tried to defend me but they were beaten. I was told to run away from them. I went out and my teammate told me to run because there were like 70, 80 people running behind me. They were chasing me with bricks and rods for a kilometer. Near the exit there was a cop car. I jumped into he car and they threw bricks on the car and spit on me. The mob even struck the vehicle. Then the police car somehow escaped the mob, and I was saved.”
