From Daughter of a driver to 'The Cobra Queen'

The seventh edition of the Matrix Fight Night (MFN) was held first time in Telangana at the Taj Falaknuma Palace. The sport Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) is a world leader in its representation of gender equality. However, women's participation in MMA is less globally. The reason may be the arena for women fighters might be more challenging because they have to fight societal norms and age-old notions that they are not tough enough for contact sports.

'The Cobra Queen' Jojo Rajkumari left the crowd stunned after she defeated her Straw weight category opponent Ishika Thithe via submission with an arm bar in just 1 minute 37 seconds of the first round.

Jojo Rajkumari hails from Manipur. About her family, she says, "My father is a driver, and my mother runs a local tea stall. So we are three members - Dad, mother and me. I also had a brother who passed away in July 2019. "

Jojo Rajkumari shed light on how her parents did not want her to enter MMA. The Manipuri fighter says, "Being a girl, my parents did not want me to fight since it could have damaged my face or my body. However, when I started fighting and won the fights, they realised that I could be a good fighter. "

The Manipuri MMA fighter has found little solace amid her financial crisis. She says, "I am not from a wealthy family, so I have to work and do some part-time business to fulfill my needs. I sell garments, woollen clothes, t-shirts, and also make candles to ease my financial crisis. "

About her MMA journey, Jojo says, "I was introduced to kickboxing in 2007 by Rohit sir, and I fell in love with martial arts at that age. I made my MMA debut in 2018 at a local MMA event in Manipur. I participated in 3 MMA local events in my hometown and made my MFN debut in September 2021 against Puja Tomar with MMA record is 2-2. And today I defeated my opponent Ishika Thithe via submission with an arm bar."

Jojo Rajkumari's role models in MMA are Angela Lee and Conor McGregor.

For Jojo, every day in training is a special day as she feels she gets to learn new stuff and improve her skills. In addition, she feels she is a better version of herself each passing day. For the upcoming fighters, she says, "Be patient and believe in yourself that you can do it."