India’s wrestling prodigy Ritu Phogat now its great MMA hope after slick One Championship debut
- ‘The Indian Tigress’ signals her intentions for strawweight title bid after demolition job at Age of Dragons in Beijing
- After turning her back on 2020 Olympics, Phogat hopes to make MMA just as popular back home
Going from India’s great Olympic wrestling hope to MMA fighter in an eventful 2019, Ritu Phogat is dialled in on winning gold in One Championship and promoting her new sport as a form of female empowerment back home.
“The Indian Tigress” shone on her One debut in Beijing, China last weekend, beating South Korea’s Kim Nam-hee via TKO at 3:37 of round one in their strawweight bout.
Hailing from the famous Phogat wrestling family in India, with three sisters who all compete at an international level, it was no surprise to see the 25-year-old take her opponent down with ease before delivering some ground and pound to show off some of her new skill set.
“Because of my wrestling background, I can take down my opponent easily. Striking for me is more difficult at the beginning,” she told the Post in Beijing before her fight at One: Age of Dragons. “But I train day and night and I believe in my training. People can see the results.”
Phogat shocked the Indian wrestling community in February when news broke that she had signed a multi-fight deal with One, the Singapore-based promotion.