THE JOURNEY STARTED AT THE AGE OF FOUR for Manthan Rane. He was introduced to Karate at the age and it marked the inception of a story that is still going strong as ever.
The jump from light-contact and semi-contact martial arts to full fledged Mixed Martial Arts came thanks to the movie, 'Never Back Down'. Back in 2011, Manthan saw the movie and was amused by the idea of the sport. The Same year, alongside his friend, he enrolled in MMA and Muay-Thai classes during the summer vacation.
Fast forward to the present, Manthan is set to fly the Indian flag high at the upcoming Ultimate Beatdown event. He will be going up against Shihab Mustafi at Ultimate Beatdown and during the interview, he mentioned how he prepared for the fight.
Manthan Rane: We don't believe in studying opponent videos as every fighter keeps evolving every time he fights and hence I haven't looked at any of his videos.I've always been a dynamic striker and now I've also been working on my grappling skills with Team Relentless so, I'll try to get a finish as soon as possible!
Nicknamed 'Metal', Manthan has been a mainstay at Evolution MMA for quite some time now: six months to be exact.
Manthan Rane: I've been there for only 6 months now but the learning experience has been truly amazing right from being coached by NCAA Division 1 Wrestlers to being graded by well known BJJ Black Belts plus the number of opportunities given to competing at International Events, has been a great experience so far!
Currently, he holds a record of 3-0 to his name and is the reigning Bantamweight champion at Yoddha Fighting Championship. As the champion, he is ready to take up any challenge that comes his way rather than picking and choosing his contenders.
Manthan Rane: It all depends on the organization and what they have in mind for me next. I'm happy to accept any challenge thrown at me and to challenge myself to be better than my last fight.
While being a champion at Bantamweight shows how comfortable he is at the weight, Manthan does have plans to compete in other weight classes in the future.
Manthan Rane: I walk around at Bantamweight and am also fighting at that weight as my coach feels it's not smart to cut weight at amateur level but, in the near future I will try and compete at Flyweight. I'm here to stay and slowly but surely I'm gonna work up the ranks and make a mark.
And his fight at Ultimate Beatdown would be another opportunity for Manthan to work his way up the ladder.