- A one of a kind sportainment in town
The latest sporting sensation in the island nation, the Karma Fight League (KFL) is back in town bigger, better, and stronger this year with a wide array of glamorous and enthralling action packed bouts set to make it mark in Sri Lanka’s fight sport arena, this event is definitely going down in the annals of Lanka’s sporting history as a revolutionary change towards creating a global impact. The Taprobane Colombo will be the place to be tomorrow (30) if you want to catch something really awesome.
In the meantime while all the preparations are underway for the big fight night, The Daily Morning Sports spoke to Karma Fight League Director of Marketing and Communications, Shyam Impett.
Following are the excerpts from the interview:
Tell us a little about the beginnings of KFL.
The beginning was definitely tough just like any other beginning. We had the vision from 2022, but we were off to start it at a smaller scale, but then we sort of decided we have to give Sri Lanka and the sports entertainment culture an experience that they have never gotten before, and from the first KFL event we were able to achieve that.
Now, we only grow from there.
How has the league impacted with last year's edition?
I’d say that the league overall has gotten more attention and this time obviously is going to be way bigger. We have tripled our prize pool for the first event this year, the Motorola Karma Fight League powered by Abans will have a whopping 1 million-plus prize pool.
We have also introduced the open weight championship and that’s happening for the first time in Sri Lanka and it’s featuring the best fighters in Sri Lanka from all sorts of disciplines like MMA, Muay Thai, boxing, Karate.
This time it’s going to be bigger, bolder than ever.
Crowd response to the KFL, any idea on that?
One question we get all the time when someone sees our first event is: “Is this Thailand? Is this in Sri Lanka?” So I guess we have exceeded expectations from fans. And we won’t stop doing that, we’ll be continuing. We are also introducing new things to Sri Lanka for the betterment of the sport and as well as the sports entertainment industry as a whole.
In terms of sponsorships and partners is there a big interest in this particular sporting culture in Sri Lanka?
When we first started out with KFL 001, obviously sponsors were a bit reluctant. But after they heard our vision, most were onboard with the vision. After we did our first event, this time it has been easier to onboard sponsors as they know what the KFL team is capable of and what KFL really is.
Overall, I’d say unless there’s international regulations or company policies, almost all brands were interested and didn’t even believe this was in Sri Lanka.
How do you think fight sport could help youngsters who aspire to become great sporting personalities?
At KFL, we empower fighters not just put them in a ring and let them fight. We have partnered up with ‘AFSO’, which is a global organisation, they are our official combat alliance. ‘AFSO’, together with the k1 federation have been able to provide KFL fighters with international opportunities.
We sent out two fighters recently to India for a king of kings elimination series, one fighter secured the gold medal and both fighters secured their place at the king of Kings World Series.
Even for our current events we maintain a standard, providing them with the best possible prize money, running fitness tests, and also running workshops for fighters to grow them as stars in the sporting and entertainment industry.
We are also currently working on a few innovative ideas to help out young fighters. Martial arts is also something we would like to develop in Sri Lanka because martial arts help people addicted to drugs, who are victims of domestic violence, and overall it improves the personality.
About Karma Fight League (KFL)
Karma Fight League (KFL) is Sri Lanka's premier K1 professional fighting league. Founded by a team passionate about combat sports, KFL is dedicated to elevating Sri Lankan fighters, establishing a legacy of thrilling K1 competition, and changing the face of sports entertainment in the nation.
Meanwhile – Indian K-1 sensation Kaberi Kaberi, the reigning Kings of Kings National Champion 2023, has arrived in Sri Lanka to challenge the undefeated Nimesha Kumari in a highly-anticipated showdown at Karma Fight League (KFL) 002 on March 30th.