Ritu Phogat is fresh from a much-needed vacation at home in India. She is now back on the mats at Evolve MMA in Singapore, ready to kickstart a fantastic 2022.
โThe Indian Tigressโ was incredibly busy, albeit wildly successful last year, as she went 3-2 across five bouts. Her biggest achievement in 2021 was barreling through the opposition in the prestigious ONE Womenโs Atomweight World Grand Prix to face Stamp Fairtex of Thailand in the final round.
Phogat ultimately succumbed to the former two-sport world champion via second-round submission. However, the loss hardly took away from anything the 27-year-old had achieved at that point in her career.
In a series of recent posts shared on Instagram, Ritu Phogat shared with fans that she is now back on the grind and ready to seize the moment in a stacked ONE Championship atomweight division.
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In a joint post with Phogat, Evolve MMA shared:
โSaying hello to a new week! Back to the grind with The Indian Tigress.โ
Phogat also posted a photo of herself with the coveted ONE Championship belt over her right shoulder and the Indian flag draped across her back, saying:
โMaybe not todayโฆ..โ
The options for Ritu Phogat on her journey toward the ONE womenโs atomweight world title
Make no mistake about it, Ritu Phogat remains fixated on making history as the first womenโs mixed martial arts world champion to come out of India.
Though that may seem like a tall order this year, Phogatโs rapid development in just two years as an MMA fighter suggests itโs certainly within the realm of possibility.
As she prepares for her highly anticipated return to the Circle, there are a handful of options for Phogat to face.
Thereโs a showdown with fellow grappling specialist, Japanโs Itsuki Hirata. Hirata was the dark horse to win the Grand Prix, but injuries have prevented her from living up to her potential. Then thereโs a rematch with Vietnamese-American star Bi Nguyen to consider.
One fighter who recently called out Phogat is former ONE world title challenger, Tiffany โNo Chillโ Teo. The Singaporean previously competed in the strawweight division, challenging reigning champion Xiong Jing Nan on two occasions but ultimately falling short.
Teo expressed her intent to move down a weight class, which opens up incredible opportunities for her at atomweight. A clash between Ritu Phogat and Tiffany Teo is a fantastic proposition and one fans in Singapore would truly enjoy.