I Am Set To Play: Indian MMA Fighter Ritu Phogat

On Friday, Ritu Phogat fights with her opponent Fairtex. The wrestler-turned-MMA (Mixed Martial Arts) fighter will carry on Thai striker Stamp Fairtex in the final of the ONE Atomweight Grand Prix tournament. The champion of the competition at the Singapore Indoor Stadium gets a title shot.

Well-known Indian wrestling winner, Ritu Phogat who has also made her signature known in the various martial arts world, will face off against Stamp Fairtex, in the ONE Women’s Atomweight World Grand Prix Championship Final at ONE: WINTER WARRIORS The champion of this final will get the esteemed silver belt and also display the next World Title challenger for managing atomweight monarch “Unstoppable” Angela Lee. Named as “The Indian Tigress”, if Ritu gets the final on Lee, she will become the first Indian woman to command a Grand Prix belt.

Her ultimate opponent, Fairtex, carries an equally important MMA record of 7-1 and is placed second in the women’s atomweight rankings. The 24-year-old from Thailand is also a previous champion in the atomweight category in both Muay Thai and Kickboxing – the first and only winner in both sports.

With a excellent all-round game that combines a flair for intense stunning, Fairtex professes a strong hurdle to the fourth-ranked “Indian Tigress” who is profoundly reliant on her wrestling methods.

“I am not at all nervous, in fact, I am excited. I have studied Fairtex’s game and like every fighter, she has her weaknesses too. I don’t like to talk about my opponents’ weaknesses before the bout, but I have my gameplan ready,” she said. 

Fairtex too required to have seen Phogat’s match and has ideas of her own. Portion of it means not making the Indian run on with the match beginning. “She likes to control the game, but I haven’t seen her throw as many weapons as I would have liked. The challenge for me will be not letting her dominate the fight early,” Fairtex said of her opponent. “I will keep my range to not let Phogat come close to me, and of course, I will use my kicks to strike her. I would love to knock her down.”