How Siddharth Singh is pushing India’s MMA dream forward
His ultimate goal is to see an Indian UFC champion but acknowledges that will take some time to accomplish
New Delhi: At age 12, Siddharth Singh was thrust into the boxing ring at the Doon boarding school in Dehradun, following in his older brother’s footsteps.
Little did he know that he would chart a path of a maverick, as a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu fighter and a top Indian coach in Mixed Martial Arts.
For six years, Singh experienced defeat after defeat, fighting in an arena where the entire school gathered to watch. But something changed in his final year that earned him a spot in the Uttaranchal state boxing team.
“I was so focused on being technical and wasn’t looking to win necessarily,” Singh told HT at the Saket branch of his Cross Train Fight Club. “Finally, I really trained very hard and won my weight class.”
His transformation from reluctant boxer to martial arts innovator took an unexpected turn during his time in North London during his higher studies. Unable to find a boxing club, Singh stumbled upon Muay Thai, the Thai martial art that opened his eyes to the power of kicks.
But it was a humbling experience with Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ) that ultimately changed his life’s trajectory.
During a free BJJ seminar at his Muay Thai academy, Singh – then a 70-kilogram trained fighter – found himself paired with a 45-kilogram female fighter from West Asia. What happened next still brings a smile to his face.
“I woke up looking at stars,” he laughs, recounting how the much smaller but more skilled opponent had rendered him unconscious twice in quick succession. This experience in 2009 sparked a revelation about the effectiveness of martial arts and its potential impact in India, particularly self-defense.
By 2012, Singh had made the bold decision to leave his cushy 9 to 5 job in UK and return to India and establish his own MMA training center. Though he initially approached it as a business venture, he quickly realized there was a crucial gap to fill because India lacked qualified MMA coaches.
Singh is India’s first brown belt in BJJ and holds the Gold Mongkol ‘Master’ title in Muay Thai and hence, he fit right in as a coach.
“The goal was to not become a coach at all,” he said. “But what I’ve been trying to do is to guide the upcoming fighters the right way, build a system where we would hand-pick these guys who we see have potential and then guide them to, hopefully, the UFC.”
Anshul Jubli and Puja Tomar – the only two Indians to hold a UFC contract at the moment – have been coached by Singh at Crosstrain Fight Club in some capacity.
Today, Singh’s mission has extended far beyond business metrics. His academy sponsors about 60% of their serious fighters, either fully or partially.
“I think once people get to realise this and recognise that they’re actual people doing it, they’re not some crazy gladiators,” he said. “To put Indians at the highest level it’s required a lot of sacrifice but at the same time the goal kind of changed from a purely commercial entity to trying to grow the sport in the country.”
Despite facing challenges within India’s fragmented martial arts landscape with multiple federations fighting for legitimacy, Singh has maintained his independence, refusing to align with any single federation to ensure his fighters can compete anywhere.
In Indian MMA, if a fighter is associated with a specific federation, he cannot compete in tournaments organised by other federations.
This decision has made him “enemy number one” for most of these organizations, but he stands firm in his conviction that it’s the right approach for the sport’s development.
“I didn’t strategize that one through,” jokes Singh. “Initially I lot of hate I got but now, I think they’ve all understood that I am not taking anyone’s side.”
His ultimate goal? To see an Indian UFC champion within the next decade.
“I know for a fact that there will be an Indian UFC champion in the future,” Singh asserts confidently. “It’s not if, it’s when.”
“My job is to make sure that if it will take 40 years, I must fast-track it to 10-15 years.”
In order to do so, Singh is actively expanding the scope of his training and collaborating with major promotions to establish proper training infrastructure across Indian cities.
“If we can have Crosstrain-level knowledge and infrastructure in all cities, I think we can have enough fighters training to bring out a bunch of top-level guys. I don’t believe in everyone getting a small slice of the pie, I think we can all work together and grow the pie for everybody.”