Ritu Phogat and Meng Bo

Photo credit to @OTHeroicsMMA on Twitter

Ritu Phogat and Meng Bo discuss ONE Atomweight Grand Prix bout

ONE: Empower goes down on Friday, September 3rd, and emanates from Singapore Indoor Stadium. The broadcast transpires on the ONE Super App and the ONE Championship Youtube channel depending on your local listing.

Ritu Phogat and Meng Bo will test skills inside the ONE Circle in a quarterfinals bout for the Atomweight Grand Prix.

Ritu Phogat and Meng Bo

Phogat recently rebounded from her lone professional defeat by besting Lin Heqin at ONE: Battleground in July. The Indian Tigress is now 5-1 overall with all of her bouts transpiring in ONE Championship.

Bo is riding a three-fight winning streak under the ONE banner and a seven-fight win streak in MMA competition overall. The WLF and Glory of Heroes veteran is currently Tapology’s number one ranked pound for pound woman competing from China as she looks to punch her ticket to the ONE Atomweight Grand Prix semi-finals.

I spoke with both combatants, through the aid of translators, at a recent media day and excerpts from my interactions with both are below.

Ritu Phogat excerpt

What a victory over Meng Bo would do for Ritu Phogat’s career

“Every fight is as equal a challenge and a milestone for us as compared to this fight. Yes, this particular fight is going to be a rite of passage, so to say in her career. It’s going to help her reach a step closer to her finished goal. So yes, it’s extremely important. But as important as the other fights that she’s had.”

Meng Bo excerpt

Meng Bo’s inspiration from combat compatriot ONE strawweight champ Xiong Jingnan

“Yeah, I feel very honored to be fighting on the same card with the one and only China world MMA champion. We actually call Jingnan, Brother Nan when we’re outside the cage. We have a very good personal relationship. I feel very calm to fight on the same card with my big sister.”

author avatar
Dylan Bowker
I've been enamored with combat sports for as long as I can remember. I've hosted MMA talk shows Lights Out and Pure Fight Radio with featured guests like Jens Pulver, Roy Nelson, Miesha Tate, Mark Coleman, and more. I've been an MMA broadcaster for XFFC as well as BTC and have done play by play commentary on live pay per view on GFL as well as FITE TV. I've provided written, audio, and video content covering some of the biggest MMA promotions like Rumble in the Cage, Unified MMA, and King of the Cage. I've worked as a sports entertainment personality for over five years and given play-by-play or featured promotions of KSW, ONE Championship, TKO, and Invicta FC. My work can be found in the USA Today Sports affiliate MMA Torch, Cageside Press, MMA Sucka, and Liberty Multimedia.