Ritu Phogat remains static at fourth position in One Championship
MMA fighter Ritu Phogat fell short in her bid to rise in her standing among the top fighters in her division. ONE Championship recently released an update to their official athlete rankings on Friday, and there was some significant movement, but the Indian Tigress remained static at fourth.
"I strongly endorse that hard work lets down none. The road to success is not easy and may sometimes involve unexpected bumps along the way. However, as it is rightly said, smooth seas do not make skillful sailors and these triggers only push me to beat my own record.
"Like I have always maintained, it is not too easy to take on the Indian Tigress and I will continue to stay single-minded towards my goal of becoming the #1 Women's Atomweight Champion. I want my performance to speak louder than rankings. I want my countrymen to feel proud when I enter the circle. I wish to inspire women and empower them to confide in their potential without allowing dampers to douse the fire in them. Hard work makes success inevitable but patience is key. I am supercharged for my next electrifying final against Stamp Fairtex and this is definitely going to be a very memorable match for MMA fans all across the world! I am rooting for nothing less than the belt and with your support I believe I can!” said Ritu Phogat about her position in the ONE Atomweight Ranking.
Phogat, who comes from the famed Pehlwani wrestling clan in India, was trained by her father Mahavir Singh Phogat, and is a decorated wrestler.
She is a former Commonwealth Wrestling Gold Medalist and a three-time Indian national wrestling champion. She won a gold medal at the 2016 Commonwealth Wrestling Championships in Singapore and a silver medal at the prestigious World Under-23 Wrestling Championships in Poland.
Phogat made the transition to mixed martial arts in late 2019, and is the first of the acclaimed Phogat sisters to do so. She has since gone 7-1 in her professional MMA career, and is now ranked fourth at atomweight in the ONE rankings, situated just one level higher than former adversary Meng Bo.
Phogat is currently on a three-fight win streak, with successful outings over the fifth-ranked Bo, and Filipino rising star Jenelyn Olsim of Team Lakay. Both victories came in the quarterfinal and semifinal round of the prestigious ONE Women’s Atomweight World Grand Prix respectively.
Meanwhile, Thailand’s Stamp Fairtex, previously the #3-ranked atomweight fighter, rose to the #2 spot, leapfrogging South Korean veteran Ham Seo Hee to sit just behind her close friend and former Fairtex teammate Denice Zamboanga.
Stamp and Phogat are slated to square off in the ONE Women’s Atomweight World Grand Prix Championship Final this 3 December at ONE: WINTER WARRIORS. The winner will earn a shot at reigning ONE Women’s Atomweight World Champion “Unstoppable” Angela Lee in early 2022.