When Krishna Shroff co-founded Matrix Fight Night alongside her mother Ayesha Shroff and brother Tiger Shroff in 2019, the pitch was simple and the intent was clear. To give Indian fighters a legitimate, professional platform in a country where MMA remained largely misunderstood. Five years and seventeen editions later, the numbers and the names tell the story. MFN has produced UFC-signed fighters like Anshul Jubli and Puja Tomar, serving as proof, that the pathway they are building in India for MMA actually works. India’s premier professional MMA promotion is now set to return with its 18th edition on May 2, and by the look of the card, it is not slowing down, as Krishna Shroff, Ayesha Shroff and Tiger Shroff continue to redefine the MMA landscape in India with MFN 18.
MFN 18 arrives with 13 bouts and two title fights anchoring the bill. The main event is a testament to what Krishna embodies—women empowerment, with a strawweight championship clash between Sonam Zomba and Brazil’s Maristela Alves, while the co-main event pits Digamber Singh Rawat against Angga for the lightweight title. The rest of the card carries serious competitive depth across weight classes: Shyamanand vs Avizo Lanamai and Manoj Yadav vs Besii Ariiji at featherweight; Mandeep Prajapati vs Yuki Angdembe and Sahil Rana vs Peter Danesoe at bantamweight; Aminder Bisht vs Rabi Panjshiri and Clinton Dcruz vs Sunatullov Azizov at flyweight; Sandeep Dahiya vs Kevin Church at light heavyweight; Abdul Kahaf vs Aman Kumar Lahar and Abhishek Negi vs Anthony Syiem at lightweight and featherweight respectively; Jyoti Kalita vs Purushoth Kumar at welterweight; and Riya Thapa vs Shalini Solanki in a strawweight bout rounding out the card.
Check Out the Fight Card For MFN 18 Below:
Krishna Shroff’s approach towards MMA has always been infrastructure-first, by building MMA Matrix into a network of training facilities across India, creating exchange programmes with international camps, and ensuring fighters who come through the system have access to world-class coaching and genuine career pathways. Her vision has included a thoughtful exchange programme where Indian and international fighters access training camps together, with coaching drawn from both sides of the border, thus benefitting everyone involved. More than any single fight on the bill, what MFN 18 represents is the sustained momentum of a promotion that started with a vision and has refused to let it stall, with Krishna Shroff, Ayesha Shroff and Tiger Shroff as the reckoning force behind it.
