She is just a fight old in Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) circuit but Indian wrestler and third sister of the famous Phogat family of wrestlers, Ritu wants to create a legacy and become first-ever MMA champion from the country.
“I know I still have a long way to go, but I’m willing to continue to put the work in until I reach my ultimate goal. My dream is to give India its first-ever mixed martial arts world champion,” she said after her first open workout session at National Sports Club of India on Wednesday.
The 25-year old made her debut in November 2019 against South Korea’s Nam Hee Kim and won the opening bout in just three minutes. And now with her second face-off scheduled against China’s Wu Chiao Chen at One: King Of The Jungle on February 28, she wants to finish the bout in the first round.
“My strategy is going to try and finish the match in the first round itself. In my debut game I won via TKO(punches), this time I want to knock out my opponent,” she said.
“I don’t look at my opponent’s age and experience. Rather I believe in my training and try to give my 100% on the ring.”
Speaking about the difference in training, challenges and adjustments she made during her switch from wrestling to MMA, Ritu said, “There’s not much difference in training. Power, speed and endurance are required in both. Just the skills required here are different. In wrestling, punching and striking were not allowed which is used in MMA.”
“It was slightly difficult to switch from wrestling to this but since I was fit from start, so it helped me and then I training with the best players in Singapore, my skills have also improved.”
However, she credits her wrestling background as an advantage.
“Hailing from wrestling background is helping me here in Mixed Martial Arts. If you see the world top 10 MMA fighters then seven of them have a wrestling background, so yes obviously it’s an advantage.”
She is a fan of Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) reigning Lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov and looks up to him, “I look up to Khabib and watch his videos, the way he takes down his opponents.”