Ritu Phogat Wants Back In The ONE Women’s Atomweight World Grand Prix
After defeating “MMA Sister” Lin Heqin at ONE: BATTLEGROUND in July, Ritu “The Indian Tigress” Phogat asked ONE Championship Chairman and CEO Chatri Sityodtong to rejoin the ONE Women’s Atomweight World Grand Prix quarterfinals, which are scheduled for ONE: EMPOWER on 3 September.
“I beat Bi [Nguyen], and also now I beat Heqin, so Mr. Chatri, put my name back in the Grand Prix,” Phogat said in a video posted on ONE Championship’s Twitter account.
Ritu Phogat wants back in the ONE Women’s Atomweight World Grand Prix!
Should Chatri grant her wish? @PhogatRitu@yodchatri#ONEBattleground#WeAreONE#ONEChampionshippic.twitter.com/02E5ZAcFo5
— ONE Championship (@ONEChampionship) August 4, 2021
The Indian star was originally slated to compete in the historic all-women’s mixed martial arts tournament, but she was replaced after losing to Bi “Killer Bee” Nguyen at ONE: DANGAL in May.
Phogat felt strongly that she deserved to win that fight, which resulted in a split-decision victory for the Vietnamese-American.
Moreover, “The Indian Tigress” vowed to bounce back and prove that her loss was just a fluke – something she did emphatically the next time out.
The wrestling sensation turned mixed martial artist dominated Lin throughout their contest, using her grappling and ground-and-pound to earn a unanimous decision win at the Singapore Indoor Stadium.
It was a performance that Phogat hopes will be enough to get another shot in the Grand Prix.
Should the Indian re-enter the bracket, she would replace one of #1-ranked atomweight contender Denice “Lycan Queen” Zamboanga, #2-ranked Meng Bo, #3-ranked Alyona Rassohyna, #4-ranked Stamp Fairtex, #5-ranked Seo Hee Ham, Grace Cleveland, Itsuki “Android 18” Hirata, Alyse “Lil’ Savage” Anderson – all of whom are slated for the quarterfinal round.
The winner of the Grand Prix will go on to challenge ONE Women’s Atomweight World Champion “Unstoppable” Angela Lee later this year, as the reigning queen has just begun training for a return after giving birth to a baby girl.
In the meantime, catch all the action from ONE: BATTLEGROUND II, a previously recorded event that airs on the ONE Super App or on meWATCH at 8:30 p.m. SGT on Friday, 13 August.
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