Ritu Phogat: Three things to know about Indian MMA star ahead of ONE Women’s Atowmweight World GP final

#1
Her
Favorite
Martial
Arts
Discipline
After
Wrestling

When
Phogat
does
not
fancy
a
grueling
wrestling
session
at
Evolve
MMA
in
Singapore,
the
athlete
instead
dons
a
rash
guard
or
gi
to
practice
another
grappling
art.

“My
favorite
has
to
be
BJJ,” she
said.

Phogat
is
surrounded
by
multiple
Brazilian
Jiu-Jitsu
World
Champions
at
the
gym
in
Singapore
and
is
always
eager
to
learn
more
about
one
of
the
most
rewarding
disciplines.

Those
BJJ
lessons,
coupled
with
her
world-class
wrestling,
could
be
a
recipe
for
success
in
the
final
against
Stamp.

#2
She
Prefers
Felines
Over
Canines

Like
other
stars
in
The
Home
of
Martial
Arts,
“The
Indian
Tigress”
is
a
huge
fan
of
furry
friends.

“I
like
both
cats
and
dogs
a
lot.
But
if
I
have
to
keep
one,
I
will
keep
a
cat,”
she
said.

While
she
was
still
in
India,
Phogat’s
best
friend
was
a
cat
named
Bella.
Unfortunately,
her
feline
passed
away
when
she
moved
to
Singapore.

“I
asked
my
family
if
I
should
keep
one
here
[in
Singapore],
but
they
asked
me
not
to
because
of
the
attachment,”
Phogat
said.

#3
Favorite
Cricket
Player

While
mixed
martial
arts
is
one
of
India’s
fastest-growing
sports,
cricket
is
still
the
most
popular.

Phogat
is
a
massive
fan
of
the
Indian
National
Cricket
Team,
a
two-time
Cricket
World
Cup
Champion.

Her
favorite
player
is
Virat
Kohli,
who
captains
the
national
side
and
three-time
Indian
Premier
League
runner-up
Royal
Challengers
Bangalore.

“I
like
the
hard
work
and
effort
he
puts
into
his
captaincy
for
the
Royal
Challengers
Bangalore
in
the
IPL,”
Phogat
said.

“I
watch
his
training
videos
on
social
media
as
well.”