Ritu Phogat on Meng Bo comeback win at ONE: Empower

Ritu Phogat bested Meng Bo via unanimous decision at ONE: Empower. The September 3rd victory at Singapore Indoor Stadium saw The Indian Tigress punch her ticket to the ONE Atomweight Grand Prix semi-finals.

Phogat appeared to be rocked heavily by strikes in the first frame. With a finish to the bout via strikes seemingly imminent for Bo. Ritu Phogat dug down deep though and utilized her world-class wrestling to turn around her fortunes.

Significant top pressure and multi-faceted ground and pound from Phogat were staples of the following couple of rounds with Bo taking some damage.

This is quite an intriguing timeline for Ritu Phogat. Someone who went from being ousted from the Grand Prix at one point. To now being a part of the tournament semi-finals.

The semi-final matchups will be voted upon by the fans and The Indian Tigress now has the momentum of back-to-back victories after suffering her lone defeat in the ONE Circle to Bi Nguyen.

I spoke with Ritu Phogat in the post-fight presser and got some insights from her.

Ritu Phogat 🇮🇳 is HYPED after her upset win over second-ranked atomweight Meng Bo! Who do YOU want to see her face in the World Grand Prix semifinals? @PhogatRitu #ONEEmpower #WeAreONE #ONEChampionship pic.twitter.com/1gWyOoWlNu

— ONE Championship (@ONEChampionship) September 3, 2021

Ritu Phogat

If this felt like the rite of passage moment she thought a Meng Bo win would feel like leading into the fight

“Of course, it’s no small feat to win. It makes me feel like a champion because I have vanquished someone as fierce as Meng Bo. Defeating a top contender, number two ranked contender is no small feat and I am glad I could walk away with the glory.”

If Ritu Phogat looks forward to getting a rankings spot after besting the number two ranked Atomweight

“This doesn’t matter to me but I want to give my best shot. I consider myself to be the best in the Atomweight (division). And soon I will prove it to the rest of the world too.”

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.

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