Sam-A, Worthen, Phogat Return To Training As Restrictions Lift

After two and a half months of training in local parks and from the confines of their homes, Singapore-based martial artists are now starting to return to the gym.

Two-sport ONE World Champion Sam-A Gaiyanghadao, American rising star Troy “Pretty Boy” Worthen, and sensational wrestler-turned-mixed-martial-artist Ritu “The Indian Tigress” Phogat – among others – have all returned to their second home in Evolve MMA.

Evolve re-opened on 20 June and invited all its students and athletes to return to training.

This is great news for the competitors, who want nothing more than to continue their strings of successes.

The last time martial arts fans saw Sam-A in action was against Australian debutant Rocky Ogden at ONE: KING OF THE JUNGLE in February, where he dismantled the promotional newcomer to become the inaugural ONE Strawweight Muay Thai World Champion.

The Thai native will most likely be itching to defend that belt – or his ONE Strawweight Kickboxing World Title – sometime later this year.

Worthen was last seen in action on the same night that Sam-A secured Muay Thai gold.

“Pretty Boy” bested Mark “Tyson” Fairtex Abelardo to bring his record to 3-0 in the ONE Circle, and he will no doubt want to continue climbing the bantamweight rankings, where division king Bibiano “The Flash” Fernandes awaits.

Like Worthen, Phogat is another relatively new athlete to ONE’s main roster. “The Indian Tigress” ignited the mixed martial arts world after scoring a first-round technical knockout win over Nam Hee Kim in November 2019.

She further fueled that fire after overcoming Taiwanese athlete Chiao Chen Wu at ONE: KING OF THE JUNGLE.

Phogat will try to out-grapple the rest of the athletes in the women’s atomweight division and look to secure a clash with reigning ONE Women’s Atomweight World Champion “Unstoppable” Angela Lee.

Before these athletes return to the Circle, however, their promotional counterparts will showcase their skills at ONE: NO SURRENDER in Bangkok, Thailand, on Friday, 31 July.

In the main event, ONE Flyweight Muay Thai World Champion Rodtang “The Iron Man”

Jitmuangnon defends his belt against Petchdam “The Baby Shark” Petchyindee Academy.

Co-headlining the card is another championship showdown between ONE Featherweight Muay Thai World Titleholder Petchmorakot Petchyindee Academy and “The Boxing Computer” Yodsanklai IWE Fairtex.