Bonjovi Nongmaithem put on a spectacular performance at the Matrix Fight Night 11 card which took place at the Talkatora Stadium in New Delhi last week. It was an action packed fight card and Bonjovi took on Nagaland’s Limasunep Imchen in the fight card opener.
Bonjovi Nongmaithem showed superior skills to that of the Nagaland based fighter and ultimately got a guillotine choke submission win. This was a great display of skill by the Manipur based fighter. What made the win even more special for Bonjovi Nongmaithem was the birth of his daughter. His daughter is just one month old, which means due to training camps, he hadn’t had too much of a time to spend with her. In an interview with The MMA India Show, Bonjovi Nongmaithem revealed how his daughter is motivating him to train harder.
Interview with Bonjovi Nongmaithem
1) Please tell us your strategy heading into your fight against Limasunep?
My strategy was to use boxing and wrestling going into this fight. I was mentally and physically ready to finish the fight or go the full distance if required.
2) Did the fight go the way you thought it would?
Yes, until I got caught with the leg lock. After knocking him down with my punches I rushed to finish him with Ground & Pound without keeping much space and in the process I got caught with leg lock & knee bar. Honestly, it was tight but I wasn’t ready to give up. Thanks to my training and resilience I was able to come out of that bad position, hammer fisted him and finished him with a guillotine choke in the 1st round.
3) How has fatherhood changed you?
It’s great. I’m a proud father of a beautiful baby girl, she is just over 1 month old. My daughter is now my new motivation to train hard and fight harder.
4) Where did you train for this fight?
I trained at SOMA FIGHT CLUB in Bali, Indonesia.
5) Tell us more about your training journey for this fight camp?
After I got confirmation for fighting at MFN 11, I wanted to do a fight camp at a good MMA gym as this was like a final shot and I didn’t want a consecutive lose in my career. My mother & wife had to pawn their jewellery to arrange money for my training camp, I couldn’t afford to lose this fight. So, I went to Bali for training just 6 days after birth of my daughter.
6.) How soon do you want to get back and who do you want to fight next?
I have come home for naming ceremony of my daughter. I will spend few days with my family and I want to get back ASAP. I’m going back to Bali in few days time to prepare for my next fight. I want to fight Arshiyan Memon. He is from a striking background, we were supposed to fight before but didn’t get finalise. Let’s do it at MFN 12. It will be a great fight for the fans.
7.) Anything you would like to say before we end this interview?
A big thanks to THE MMA INDIA SHOW for this interview. I want to give a huge credit of my recent win to the whole Soma Fight Club team, specially Coach Mike & Coach Alpha.
I also want to thank MFN, Sir Alan Fenandes and Ma’am Ayesha Shroff for giving me opportunity at MFN 11. Last but not the least, I would like to thank my fight manager Rupendra Sharma for guiding me and helping me in rebuilding my career.
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