Indian MMA sensation Ritu Phogat predicts UFC 254: Khabib Nurmagomedov vs Justin Gaethje
It is no secret that UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov has a widespread fanbase across the world.
The Russian fighter is undefeated inside the cage and 28 men have failed to solve the puzzle that Nurmagomedov is. Khabib Nurmagomedov is set to take on his 29th opponent tonight, the interim lightweight champion Justin Gaethje in the main event of UFC 254. Ahead of the clash, Indian MMA sensation and ONE Championship atomweight Ritu Phogat, also referred to by her fans as "the female Khabib", has pledged her support for the champ on Twitter.
In a recent conversation with Sportskeeda, Phogat revealed that she is inspired by Khabib Nurmagomedov and that it's been over seven years since she's been following him. Phogat said that she watches a lot of videos of the Dagestan native to learn from and improve her own game. Phogat was happy to be compared to the legendary fighter because of their undefeated streaks in MMA and the fact that both have a high level ground game.
Having previously stated that Khabib Nurmagomedov is the athlete who she draws inspiration from, it's no secret that Phogat will definitely be rooting for the Russian to further extend his undefeated streak when he faces Gaethje inside the Octagon later tonight.
Phogat comes from a wrestling family and she even won a gold medal at the 2016 Commonwealth Wrestling Championship before transitioning to MMA. Her sisters Geeta Phogat and Babita Kumari as well as cousin Vinesh Phogat are all Commonwealth Games gold medalists in wrestling. Ritu Phogat currently trains at Evolve MMA in Singapore and is set to take on Cambodia’s Nou Srey Pov at ONE: INSIDE THE MATRIX on 30th October (Singapore).