Local martial arts gym Juggernaut Fight Club to close after 15 years
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Juggernaut Fight Club is closing on March 7 as their location in Chinatown is part of an area that has been slated for redevelopment.
PHOTO: SCREENGRAB FROM GOOGLE MAPS
- Juggernaut Fight Club, one of Singapore's pioneering mixed martial arts gyms, will be closing on March 7 after 15 years, once its lease at Chinatown ends.
- The gym has played a part in the development of some of the Republic's most prominent boxers such as Rafi Majid, Nurshahidah Roslie and Muhamad Ridhwan, as well as MMA fighter Tiffany Teo.
- Despite the closure of the gym, there is hope and confidence among the Singapore combat sports fraternity that the scene will continue to grow.
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SINGAPORE – Juggernaut Fight Club, a pioneering local mixed martial arts (MMA) gym and breeding ground of some of the Republic’s top professional boxers and MMA fighters, will be shuttering on March 7 after 15 years.
It will cease operating once its lease in Chinatown ends, said the gym’s co-owner David Grainger.
In an Instagram post on Feb 8 advertising its JFC Last Round Pass, Juggernaut wrote: “We are closing (lease ended). Whilst we are sad, we have an awesome final month planned.”
Among other benefits, the pass offers discounted unlimited training until March 7, access to JFC Legends Masterclasses as well as free training at other martial arts gyms – one week at Neue Fit or two weeks at Flow State Academy – after Juggernaut’s closure.
The pass is available for $200 this week and will get cheaper weekly.
Refunds will be arranged for “a small number” of members who have active memberships that last beyond March 7, said Grainger, who is Australian.
He said the gym’s landlord is not renewing its lease as the area is slated for redevelopment by the authorities.
According to the Urban Redevelopment Authority’s Draft Master Plan 2025, the area is slated to be turned into a community space.
Grainger added: “We tried to find another location, but it’s almost impossible for small businesses to find an affordable location. It got to a point where the numbers don’t stack up. It’s sad and frustrating.”
Founded by former national amateur boxer Arvind Lalwani in 2011, Juggernaut has become regarded as an institution in the local combat sports scene. Its original location was in Boat Quay and it has moved several times before settling in Chinatown in 2022.
Besides boxing, the gym also has programmes for muay, wrestling, mixed martial arts and Brazilian jiu-jitsu.
Grainger, who started out as a gym member at Juggernaut, became Lalwani’s business partner in 2022. Lalwani left Juggernaut in 2023.
The gym has produced some of the country’s most prominent boxers, including Rafi Majid and Nurshahidah Roslie, who were Singapore’s first male and female pro boxing champions, as well as Muhamad Ridhwan, who became Singapore’s first pro boxing world champion
Members training hard at Juggernaut Fight Club, which is closing on March 7 after 15 years once its lease in Chinatown ends.
PHOTO: COURTESY OF JUGGERNAUT FIGHT CLUB
Ridhwan, 38, said: “It’s never easy to see a gym with history and heart close its doors. I had the chance to work with their fight team and those sessions sharpened me. It was a valuable part of my development.
“Their legacy is in the fighters they produced, the reputation they built and the standards they helped raise for competitive boxing in Singapore.
“Even as the gym closes, the impact of their fighters and the culture they contributed will stay in the sport.”
MMA fighter Tiffany Teo, a former title contender at One Championship, also trained at Juggernaut between 2012 and 2016. She contested for One’s women’s strawweight world title in 2018.
She said: “Regardless of how people’s paths may have diverged over time, Juggernaut was an important space during a formative period for MMA and combat sports in Singapore.
“Juggernaut was a starting point for many combat athletes in Singapore... that helped build the foundation of the local fight scene and contributed to the growth of MMA and combat sports in the country.”
One way Juggernaut did that was by giving fighters, especially female fighters, more opportunities to compete, said Teo, 36.
Having that supportive environment space was important for Teo’s growth and confidence in the sport, she added.
Rafi, who used to train at Juggernaut twice a day every weekday, said the gym also helped change the public’s perceptions of the sport by organising many boxing events here.
The former UBO super middleweight Asia-Pacific champion said: “There weren’t many opportunities for boxers to get regular fights. Arvind and Juggernaut were the first few to set up events and shows where amateurs could get in the ring.
“These events helped people realise it’s more of an art and it’s not just about fitness. You also learn discipline, perseverance and good attitude.
“People then became more accepting and parents became more open-minded about letting their kids learn boxing.”
Despite the closure, there is hope and confidence that Singapore’s combat sports scene will continue to grow.
Lalwani, who is now the head coach of the Eastside Fight Club he founded, hopes to continue promoting martial arts as he did with Juggernaut. He is also the chief executive officer of the Singapore Fighting Championship – a multi-disciplinary event – and will be staging five shows in 2026.
The 46-year-old added: “Juggernaut will always have a place in my heart. It started everything and I’ve learnt a lot over the years. I’m truly appreciative and it’s definitely sad that it’s shutting its doors.
“At the end of the day, Juggernaut is just a gym. What’s more important is that it’s the environment and the people who make it what it is.”
