KUALA LUMPUR, May 6 — Gianni, 24 and Keanu, 22 have fought professionally since 2011 but their Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) journey started off differently.

Gianni — the elder of the brothers — said when he was younger he was afraid to even watch a fight.

"My dad took us on a family trip to Thailand when we were younger and he wanted to take me to a Muay Thai fight. I was scared and declined the opportunity to go,” he said.

"I only fell in love with the sport when I watched the debut season of the Ultimate Fighter in 2005 — a US based series where contestants vied for a UFC contract. It was insane, I wanted to know more after.”

Gianni then picked up boxing while he was 15 at a local gym in Kuala Lumpur before his family moved to Salt Lake City, Utah in the United States the following year.

"It was sad to leave the country at first. But then I settled down and a couple of months after, I found a gym which taught me Brazilian jiu-jitsu and kickboxing.”

He practised hard but sooner than expected, it was time for him to further his studies.

Gianni enrolled in a university in Hawaii for a marketing course in 2010

"I did not fancy it. I wanted to fight professionally but my mum was not cool with the idea, she kept on telling me: ‘You have to finish your studies’,” said the 24-year-old.

"I worked odd jobs to save enough money to come back to Malaysia and when I had enough money, I told her I did not want to continue with my course any more, I quit halfway and embarked on my journey around 2011.”

Gianni was supposed to fight at a local fighting event — Ultimate Beatdown — in Johor but his opponent pulled out and the event organisers never found a replacement for him.

Things fell into place at the right time — One Championship came calling and his journey in the octagon so far has spanned six years and 10 fights with a professional record of eight wins and two defeats.

Keanu, on the other hand, only had one thing in mind since he was young — to become an MMA fighter.

"I skipped university because in my mind, it was all MMA. One person who was always supportive of my dream from day one was my dad; he was always there with words of encouragement.”

Keanu travelled back to Malaysia around the same time his brother did but his career was already about to begin despite being two years younger than Gianni.

"I was only 16 I took on MMA veteran AJ Lias Mansor at a local event.

"I remember the fight, my first time in the octagon in a professional match. I could not believe it, but I survived all three rounds,” he said.

Unfortunately for him, he lost via decision, but that did not stop the 22-year-old fighter.

He then competed in the Malaysian Invasion circuit — an amateur MMA event — and went on to win the Featherweight title and defended it once.

Since then, he had gone on to fight six more times professionally with five wins and one defeat to his name.

"Hardwork paid off. You get what you put in,” he said.

Their biggest fan, father Suraj Subba had a few words to say about his two sons.

"I’m absolutely proud where Gianni and Keanu are now. They’ve got a long way to go.

"It’s fantastic to see them win, but it’s a celebration of all their hard work and effort,” said the father of his two fighting sons.