Ritu “The Indian Tigress” Phogat is one of India’s most accomplished wrestlers, and now she is turning heads with her dominant performances in mixed martial arts.
The Commonwealth Wrestling gold medalist showed why she is a threat in ONE Championship’s women’s atomweight division after earning her second straight mixed martial arts win.
On 28 February at ONE: KING OF THE JUNGLE, Phogat used her elite grappling skills to defeat “Miss Red” Wu Chiao Chen by unanimous decision.
“Coming from a wrestling background, grappling is one of my strengths, so I try to use that to my advantage,” she said.
“The Indian Tigress,” who owes her wrestling acumen to the training she received from her father – legendary wrestler Mahavir Singh Phogat – is not one to rest on her laurels.
“I know I have a lot to work on for striking,” she continued. “I had to be on top of my game for all three rounds in order to come out victorious.”
Even though the Evolve representative could not add another stoppage win to her record, she executed a game plan that worked to her favor.
The Haryana native avoided much danger from the mount position and controlled the match over all three rounds.
“My coaches at Evolve MMA wanted me to capitalize on my ground game advantage,” Phogat said. “I was trying to get into a good position in each round and land a few strikes.”
Although she had “Miss Red” pinned for most of the match, Phogat could not find a way past the tight guard of her Chinese rival.
“I have to keep pushing and working on securing dominant positions with my opponents so that I can use my skills to my advantage in the future,” she said.
After analyzing the footage of her match, “The Indian Tigress” has identified several areas of her game that require work.
“I was committed to finding an opening and keeping the position. If you put enough pressure while you’re on top, sometimes you will find an opening that you can use to your advantage,” she said.
“I have a lot to improve on and I’ll keep working hard to constantly evolve as an athlete and be well prepared for my next match.”
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