Harsh Pandya: An Opportunity Too Good to Miss

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Harsh Pandya stands to benefit from a long-term Professional Fighters League mining project put in place to expand the company’s reach into the Middle East, North Africa and beyond.

The amateur flyweight will represent India when he meets Malik Basahel as part of the PFL MENA 1 undercard this Friday at The Green Halls in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. A regional branch of the Professional Fighters League, PFL MENA aims to serve as a staging ground for emerging talent from countries who have yet to carve out a sizable footprint in mixed martial arts.

Pandya, 28, jumped at the chance to participate when PFL representatives presented the short-notice assignment to him.

“I only heard about it a couple of weeks ago,” Pandya told Sherdog.com. “I was excited. It’s a great, great opportunity. I have to thank my manager for helping me and my coaches for pushing me forward and trusting me with this big fight. I’m looking forward to it. It will be a great opportunity for me to fight and showcase my skill set and show the level of Indian MMA.”

Because of the last-minute manner in which the bout came together, Pandya and his team did not have much time to develop a scouting report on Saudi Arabia’s Basahel. His inner circle was charged with developing a strategy, as has been customary to this point in his career.

“I let my coaches watch my opponents, and they figure out the game plan,” Pandya said. “They figure out their weaknesses, and we prepare accordingly. I normally don’t watch their fights. I let my coaches do the fight study, and they come up with the game plan and we figure it out. It’s just my thing.”

Should past tendencies play out in the cage, Pandya believes much of the match with Basahel could be contested on the ground.

“I like to grapple. My style is grappling, so I would say that is my strength, and I guess he’s also a grappler, so, you know, it’s going to be a great contest between us,” Pandya said. “There’s going to be some good grappling exchanges between us. I can strike, as well, obviously. I don’t know, but I tend to lean more towards grappling, so that would be my strength.”

Pandya understands no one can peer into the future, but he thinks the PFL and his handlers have put a sound developmental plan in place for him and other fighters like him.

“To be honest, I don’t know much, but what I know is [that] after this fight, the PFL will be giving [me] another amateur fight; and after winning that, they will give me the PFL contract,” he said. “That’s when I’ll make my pro debut in the PFL. That’s how it’s going to be. I believe that’s about it. I’m looking forward to becoming a pro at the end of this year.”

For now, Pandya’s entire focus rests upon the test in front of him.

“I don’t believe in predictions, but I would say I’m looking to dominate the fight,” he said. “I would ideally want to dominate the fight. I’ll be looking to work more and more, as I want to dominate the fight. If the finish comes, we’ll take it. Otherwise, it goes to decision. It doesn’t matter. The goal is to win, nothing else. We’re going to win. We’re going to make it happen.”