Bollywood action star Tiger Shroff says he’s bringing back his Mixed Martial Arts event, Matrix Fight Night, to Dubai for the third time because the city has “the right audience”.
To be held on September 24 at the Palazzo Versace Dubai, the ticketed evening will feature some of India’s top fighters battle it out in the cage, with Bollywood stars expected to attend as guests.
“Dubai has always been the city which has given a lot of love to MFN and a very vibrant, diverse and welcoming place for our event. We had a fantastic event here in December 2020 and we only want to top that now,” Shroff tells The National. “The ‘sportstainment’ industry has also grown a lot in the Middle East and it’s great to showcase Asia’s greatest sports talents in a city like Dubai.”
An offshoot of the MMA Matrix Fitness Centre in Mumbai, which Shroff co-owns with sister Krishna Shroff, five fight nights have been held since 2019, with the last two being hosted in Dubai.
The coming event, MFN6, will introduce a few new elements, including a women’s bout, Krishna reveals.
“We’ve been doing everything we can provide a fair and complete platform [for women] to showcase their talent,” she says. “This is also our first show where we introduce a non-Indian fighter, so that is a new element to make the event more international.”
The children of Bollywood actor Jackie Shroff and former model Ayesha Shroff, the siblings have been credited with taking Mixed Martial Arts mainstream in India, with a little help from their celebrity friends.
Tiger, who made his Bollywood debut in 2014 with the film Heropanti, is a trained martial artist, having started when he was just five. He’s trained in karate, wushu and taekwondo, and has often credited Mixed Martial Arts for keeping him in top form.
“MMA has been greatly instrumental in keeping both of us fit and disciplined and once you start seeing the results, you like what you see so it becomes a lifestyle. And it greatly helps to keep our focus in our respective fields,” he says.
Krishna, who is also a film producer, says it was her brother who inspired her.
“Watching Tiger grow up, talking about MMA, it got me naturally affiliated with the sport without realising it. Together, we hope that our MFN dream will motivate many out there to strengthen both their bodies and minds, be it a man or a woman. Our plans may seem small but we think for the long road, and sooner or later we will achieve what we have set out to do with MFN since its inception,” she says.
While they’ve “scaled quite a few peaks” with MFN despite battling misconceptions about the sport, Tiger says the plan is to go “slow and steady”.
“MMA has always been misunderstood as a violent sport but that’s not the case. Yes, there’s direct combat involved but these fighters are trained for it and injuries can and always happen in any sport you play or compete in.
“We are here to provide and present MMA as a career to our Indian athletes and now maybe to a lot of international fighters as well. We want to achieve respect for MMA as a career.”
Monther Darwish, managing director of Palazzo Versace Dubai, says MFN6 will be bigger and better.
“Unlike last year, when the event was open to a certain guest list only, MFN6 will be open to the public. It is one of the most important sports events in Dubai this year and another reason to believe we are heading back to pre-Covid Dubai, with lots of events and happenings across the city as we enter a new season,” he says.
“Having Tiger and Krisha Shroff back in Dubai is an exciting element as well, as people love them both for bringing the Mixed Martial Arts to the city, a sport so appreciated in the region.”
Tickets to MFN6 on Friday, September 24 start at Dh250 and can be bought by emailing mfn@palazzoversace.ae or calling 04-5568805.
Infiniti QX80 specs
Engine: twin-turbocharged 3.5-liter V6
Power: 450hp
Torque: 700Nm
Price: From Dh450,000, Autograph model from Dh510,000
Available: Now
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
India cancels school-leaving examinations
What is an FTO Designation?
FTO designations impose immigration restrictions on members of the organisation simply by virtue of their membership and triggers a criminal prohibition on knowingly providing material support or resources to the designated organisation as well as asset freezes.
It is a crime for a person in the United States or subject to the jurisdiction of the United States to knowingly provide “material support or resources” to or receive military-type training from or on behalf of a designated FTO.
Representatives and members of a designated FTO, if they are aliens, are inadmissible to and, in certain circumstances removable from, the United States.
Except as authorised by the Secretary of the Treasury, any US financial institution that becomes aware that it has possession of or control over funds in which an FTO or its agent has an interest must retain possession of or control over the funds and report the funds to the Treasury Department.
Source: US Department of State
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Timeline
2012-2015
The company offers payments/bribes to win key contracts in the Middle East
May 2017
The UK SFO officially opens investigation into Petrofac’s use of agents, corruption, and potential bribery to secure contracts
September 2021
Petrofac pleads guilty to seven counts of failing to prevent bribery under the UK Bribery Act
October 2021
Court fines Petrofac £77 million for bribery. Former executive receives a two-year suspended sentence
December 2024
Petrofac enters into comprehensive restructuring to strengthen the financial position of the group
May 2025
The High Court of England and Wales approves the company’s restructuring plan
July 2025
The Court of Appeal issues a judgment challenging parts of the restructuring plan
August 2025
Petrofac issues a business update to execute the restructuring and confirms it will appeal the Court of Appeal decision
October 2025
Petrofac loses a major TenneT offshore wind contract worth €13 billion. Holding company files for administration in the UK. Petrofac delisted from the London Stock Exchange
November 2025
180 Petrofac employees laid off in the UAE
SWEET%20TOOTH
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McLaren GT specs
Engine: 4-litre twin-turbo V8
Transmission: seven-speed
Power: 620bhp
Torque: 630Nm
Price: Dh875,000
On sale: now
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-final, first leg
Barcelona v Liverpool, Wednesday, 11pm (UAE).
Second leg
Liverpool v Barcelona, Tuesday, May 7, 11pm
Games on BeIN Sports
if you go
The flights
Etihad and Emirates fly direct to Kolkata from Dh1,504 and Dh1,450 return including taxes, respectively. The flight takes four hours 30 minutes outbound and 5 hours 30 minute returning.
The trains
Numerous trains link Kolkata and Murshidabad but the daily early morning Hazarduari Express (3’ 52”) is the fastest and most convenient; this service also stops in Plassey. The return train departs Murshidabad late afternoon. Though just about feasible as a day trip, staying overnight is recommended.
The hotels
Mursidabad’s hotels are less than modest but Berhampore, 11km south, offers more accommodation and facilities (and the Hazarduari Express also pauses here). Try Hotel The Fame, with an array of rooms from doubles at Rs1,596/Dh90 to a ‘grand presidential suite’ at Rs7,854/Dh443.
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
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