Everything You Need to Know About Anshul Jubli

It may be said that the Indians haven’t done pretty well in the UFC. To date, the only Indian to score a UFC contract was Bharat Khandare, who only had a single fight in the UFC. But, on 5 February 2023, one more Indian fighter will stand the opportunity to score a UFC contract and become only the second-ever Indian to boast this achievement. The 28-year-old Lightweight, Anshul Jubli, hailing from Uttarakhand, India, is set to take on the Indonesian Jeka Saragih at his last fight of the ‘Road to UFC’ contest. Jubli‘s fight has been scheduled as one of the prelims of the UFC Fight Night 218.

Anshul Jubli’s background

Anshul Jubli‘s father was employed in the Indian Border Security Forces (BSF) which caused his family to relocate multiple times. Despite Uttarakhand being his native state, the UFC aspirant’s childhood saw him dwell in multiple cities in the Indian states of Delhi, Delhi, Punjab, Bihar, Rajasthan, and Bengal. Jubli shared a childhood similarity with the noted UFC Featherweight champion, Alexander Volkanovski, as he was also the ‘fat kid’ among his peers.

He was also reportedly bullied by his miscreant schoolmates till the sixth grade when he finally decided to step into sports. Jubli was of the opinion that sports will help him cut his pounds and stay fit. He also thought of avoiding getting bullied through sports. The UFC aspirant was also an avid lover of mathematics and gave mathematics tuition at a point in his life.

The diary of the noted Indian freedom fighter, Bhagat Singh, hugely inspired Jubli. He made up his mind to get into a profession that could have him serve his country. He chose to appear for the Combined Defence Services Examination (CDSE) at the age of 17. At this juncture, Jubli came to know about combat sports for the first time.

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Jubli took his first lesson in MMA at a gym nearby his home. But unlike his friends traveling to other cities for training, Jubli decided to stay back and clear his CDSE. However, it didn’t yield anything eventful, which made Jubli take a train to the Indian capital of Delhi for a jiu-jitsu trial session at Crosstrain Fight Club. He iterated, “I was rolling and everyone was tapping me out. I did not understand what was going on”.

He further stated, “after the first day, I came back home completely exhausted and decided that this is what I wanted and I was not going to give up.” A good deal might agree that this trial session was what turned Jubli into the fighter he is today.

Anshul Jubli: MMA Career

Anshul Jubli boasts an undefeated amateur MMA career covering a span of four years. He picked up 13 wins in his entire career without tasting defeat even once. Jubli‘s first seven amateur MMA fights happened over the course of the first three years of his career. But, his next six bouts took happened within the span of just six months.

This was the time when Jubli was starting to really get into the core of MMA. He still views the amateur MMA circuit stage as the basic stage which builds up the fighter within a person. Talking about amateur MMA, Jubli once stated, “Amateur is the toughest, according to me. In one day, there could be two-three fights. If you win one fight and you get injured, imagine how it will feel if an official says that you have the next fight coming up soon.”

But he also stated, “It is helpful since it teaches you to manage your nerve since it feels like an event and not a fight”. There was also a time in his amateur MMA career when he had thought of giving up. After his 13th amateur fight, Jubli received a call to fight in the Philippines. He reportedly borrowed about 100k INR ($1216) from his friends and spent most of it on his food and lodging in the Philippines.

But, just while he was warming up prior to his fight, he heard that it had got canceled due to some legal trouble. This incident broke him down. He recalled, “When I returned, I was so broken and even thought of giving up everything and thought of going back to Dehradun and prepare for some exams and teach students math”. But, he decided to hold on and one day finally he received a call from a promoter named Alan Fernandes who was then in Matrix Fight Night (MFN) promotions. He offered Jubli the first professional fight of his career against Sanjeet Budhwar.

Anshul Jubli: Road to the UFC

Jubli termed his run for the MFN as a blessing. He also praised the MFN, stating, “That promotion is doing very good for MMA fighters in India. I’m blessed to be a part of that promotion. My terms and my relationship with everyone in MFN is still very tight and good“. His five-fight win streak in the MFN brought him into the vision of Somesh Kamra, the UFC’s prime talent scout in India. It was Kamra who recruited Jubli into the Road to the UFC contest after conversations with his coach, Siddharth Singh. Initially, Jubli was unaware of his selection.

But he was ecstatic when he got to know about the whole thing. Jubli talked to the noted media house, ‘Hindustan Times’ and stated, “I felt like I was on the right path. I had a clear path in front of me; win Road to UFC, get into UFC, then get into UFC top rankings, then win UFC belt, make history”.

Jubli also had a touch of luck as he stepped into the Road to the UFC. His first opponent, Patrick Sho Usami, failed to make weight for his bout. Hence, Jubli automatically advanced to the semi-finals of this three-bout contest. He faced the South Korean, Kyung Pyo Kim, in the semi-finals. After a three-round back-and-forth contest against the South Korean, the fight finally went to the judge’s cards for a decision.

Jubli was declared the winner via a split decision in the semi-final. It set up him for his Road to the UFC fight at UFC Vegas 68 bout against Jeka Saragih. However, Jubli was always confident about his win. He had previously stated, “I’m gonna get that contract for India, for me, and for my family”.

Apparently, a lot in the hugely populous country of India will have their eyes glued to the screen for the UFC Vegas 68. An entire country will be hoping that Jubli makes it to the UFC like Bharat Khandare.

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