Free Full Fight: Tiffany Teo makes atomweight debut against Indian wrestling icon Ritu Phogat

Ritu Phogat’s return to ONE Championship didn’t go quite as planned against former strawweight title challenger Tiffany Teo at ONE 161. ‘The Indian Tigress’ entered the circle for the first time since her submission loss to Stamp Fairtex in the ONE Women's Atomweight World Grand Prix last December.

History repeated itself as the elite wrestler suffered a second-straight submission loss against ‘No Chill’, who was making her atomweight debut. You can relive Teo’s spectacular division debut online as ONE Championship has released the fight for free to watch on YouTube.

Initially, Ritu Phogat looked intent on testing her stand-up skills which she had worked to develop during her time away from the circle. ‘The Indian Tigress’ landed some solid strikes, but ultimately went back to her comfort zone, shooting in for a takedown on Teo. Unfortunately for Phogat, Teo’s size and strength were too much to overcome.

Tiffany Teo was able to stave off the takedown attempt, taking Phogat’s back in the process. From there, it was just a matter of time as she worked to sink her arm under Phogat’s chin, locking in a rear-naked choke for an impressive first-round finish.

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Tiffany Teo was ready to go three rounds with Ritu Phogat at ONE 161

After a successful run in the strawweight division, including two world title opportunities against Xiong Jing Nan, Tiffany Teo decided to test her mettle in the world of atomweights. The biggest concern with a drop in weight class is typically the potential sacrifice of power and stamina. These were the real concerns for ‘No Chill’ as she stepped into the circle with Ritu Phogat.

Teo looked as strong as ever and though she didn’t need to use her cardio beyond the first round. Nonetheless, ‘No Chill’ believes that her body was more than capable of going all the way with Ritu Phogat at ONE 161:

“Yeah, definitely. I didn’t sweat at all during that matchup. I was sweating more during the warmup. So definitely, if it went all three rounds, I’m sure that my cardio would help me pull that off.”

Now sitting in the No. 5- ranked spot in the ONE atomweight rankings, Teo should be in line for another big match-up in the atomweight division.