Ritu Phogat starts MMA career with ruthless win
Ritu Phogat had 15 minutes to make an impressive start to her Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) journey. She took just over three to get the job done. In an atomweight (52.2kg) contest of the ONE Championship in Beijing on Saturday, debutant Phogat, 25, got the better of her South Korean opponent Nam Hee Kim through technical knockout in the first round. The referee had to stop the fight at 3:37 minutes when a helpless Kim was taking a relentless ground and pound from Phogat at the Cadillac Arena.
With her wrestling credentials, Phogat was always expected to focus on her grappling prowess and she did just that against the 20-year-old Kim, whose strength is Brazilian jiu jitsu. After an initial period, where both fighters measured each other up, it was Phogat who took the initiative inside 20 seconds with a successful takedown. The Korean fighter, who stood at 163cm compared to Phogat’s 156cm, was leaden-footed as Phogat swooped low to take her rival by the hip and pin her on the floor.
A desperate attempt to hold her by the neck followed but somehow the Korean broke through. There was little use of feet on Phogat’s part, as Kim looked to use her knee to inflict damage. But her attempts lacked sting as Phogat yet again took down her rival, this time from a side-lock position.
Phogat’s grip was much better this time as Kim could do little with her legs to free herself. There was a brief moment where Phogat had to leave her grip as Kim delivered a kick. But before her rival could even stand up, Phogat pounced back and started the pounding. The assault of punches continued for a good 30 seconds and Kim couldn’t tap out. Ultimately the referee Olivier Coste had to stop the fight and declared Phogat the winner.
“I believed that if I got her down early, I could finish her via ground and pound. The plan worked,” Phogat said after her win. She had been training in Singapore at the Evolve MMA for the last eight months. After her first victory she will be going back to the facility to hone her skills, especially in boxing and other forms of martial arts. “I hope to get back in the ring soon and down the line I want to challenge the current champion Angela Lee for the world title,” Phogat said.