Ritu Phogat, also known as `The Indian Tigress’ has stayed true to her name. Former Indian wrestler and now a Mixed Martial Arts star, Ritu won her third consecutive MMA championship title in Singapore. The 26-year-old Phogat defeated Cambodia’s Nou Srey Pov with a technical knockout win in the second round. The match was part of ONE Championship’s ONE: INSIDE THE MATRIX event that featured four exciting World Championship contests, broadcast live from the Singapore Indoor Stadium.
She put up an impressive victory over Cambodia’s Nou Srey Pov by winning by a technical knockout after the referee stopped the contest two minutes and two seconds into round two. Phogat dominated the first round, landing multiple takedowns while doing damage on the ground in a dominant position. She landed a pair of solid right hands before taking Nou down to the ground again in the second round, where she finished in top position with strikes.
Commenting on her stellar performance, Ritu Phogat said, “It feels ecstatic to have a hat-trick in my MMA career with this win. Moreover, the hardships and challenges that I faced during to the pandemic have indeed paid off. I feel euphoric to be taking India to a new height in the MMA space and I cannot be more proud. I am grateful to my family, friends and fans back home who have rooted for me unwaveringly and have been extremely optimistic about my performance today. Lastly, I would also want to thank my coach who has played a significant role in my journey and whose strategies I have sworn by to defeat Cambodian champion Nou Srey Pov. I now look forward to the Grand Prix where I aim to own the world championship title.”
Talking about her performance, Cambodia’s Nou Srey Pov said, “I regret that I could not complete three rounds as per my plan. Ritu is too tough and much faster than me. I feel sorry for my Cambodian fans that I couldn’t deliver a victory for them. However, I promise that I’ll come back stronger than before.”
More about Ritu Phogat
Commonwealth Wrestling Gold Medalist Ritu Phogat comes from a famed wrestling family. Her father, Mahavir Singh Phogat, is a legendary coach having trained several of her family members and leading them to the highest levels of the sport, inspiring the hit movie “Dangal.” Phogat began her own training at the age of 8, and just a few years later, she dropped out of school to focus on her wrestling career.
Phogat won three Indian national championships in wrestling before taking gold at the 2016 Commonwealth Wrestling Championships in Singapore. The following year, she won a Silver medal at the prestigious World Under-23 Wrestling Championships in Poland, becoming the first female Indian wrestler to do so in the process. She was expected by many to represent India at the 2020 Olympic games in Tokyo, but she shocked the wrestling world when she announced that she was switching her focus to mixed martial arts instead.
She promptly moved to Singapore to join the world-renowned Evolve MMA, where she trains with multiple Muay Thai and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu World Champions to bring her striking and submission skills up to par with her elite wrestling. Her ultimate goals are to make her country proud with her performances on the global stage and to become India’s first mixed martial arts World Champion, a goal she hopes to attain within two years.