Ritu Phogat Secures a Dominant Unanimous Decision Win at ONE: NEXTGEN – Advances to the Atomweight Grand Prix Final

At ONE: NEXTGEN, fans witnessed an intriguing ONE women’s Atomweight World Grand Prix bout in the co-main event. The first half of the Grand Prix semifinals featured Ritu Phogat clash against Jenelyn Olsim, who stepped in on short notice.

A lot of eyes were on this Grand Prix semifinal bout as the winner of this bout would eventually secure a spot in the ONE women’s Atomweight World Grand Prix final.

Phogat, who was 6-1 coming into this bout, was riding a 2-fight win streak. The Indian fighter is a force to be reckoned with in the ONE women’s Atomweight division. Furthermore, she was coming in as a fan favorite.

Meanwhile, Olsim, who came into this bout as the underdog, aimed to claim an upset victory over Phogat in a highlight-reel fashion.

Read More: “It’s Either a Submission or Knockout” – Jenelyn Olsim Aims to Finish Ritu Phogat in Grand Prix Semifinals

Ritu Phogat secures her way to glory at ONE: NEXTGEN

Phogat controlled the majority of the first round through her elite grappling skills, scoring a couple of takedowns. Meanwhile, despite being in the bottom position, Olsim still made several submission attempts. However, Olsim failed every time.

Olsim landed an illegal strike in the last few seconds of round one. The referee immediately halted the bout to check whether the illegal strike hurt Phogat. Everything seemed alright, and the fight continued.

The second round was not much different from the first round as Phogat controlled the majority of the round through her wrestling skills, while Olsim failed on submission attempts.

Phogat dominated the first four minutes of the third round. Meanwhile, Olsim managed to get on top at the last minute and put Phogat in a triangle choke. However, Phogat weathered the storm and ended the last seconds of the fight with a dominating ground-and-pound.

The fight resulted in a unanimous decision victory for Ritu Phogat. As a result, she has secured herself a spot in the ONE women’s Atomweight Grand Prix final.

Who will Phogat face in the ONE women’s Atomweight Grand Prix Final?

The other half of the Grand Prix semifinal will feature Stamp Fairtex going up against Julie Mezabarba in the main event at ONE: NEXTGEN. The winner of this bout will also eventually secure a spot in the Grand Prix final.

Thus, Phogat will now face the face Fairtex and Mezabarba in the Grand Prix final. 

Read More: ‘She’s an Above Average Fighter’ – Stamp Fairtex Shares Her Thoughts on Her Next Opponent Julie Mezabarba