"I want to learn from him" - Ritu Phogat reveals how Khabib Nurmagomedov has been the inspiration to shape her MMA career

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Ritu Phogat (L), Khabib Nurmagomedov (R). [Images via @rituphogat48 and @khabib_nurmagomedov on Instagram]

ONE Championship star Ritu Phogat is a special talent. Born to a family of wrestlers, the 27-year-old's career has been watched with plenty of global interest due to the success of the film Dangal, based on the exploits of her sisters and her father.

Since transitioning from wrestling to MMA in 2019, 'The Indian Tigress' has enjoyed plenty of success and boasts a 5-1 record. Given her background, it's perhaps not surprising that she bases much of her style around MMA icon Khabib Nuragomedov. His sambo-wrestling style helped 'The Eagle' become UFC lightweight champion before he retired with an unblemished 29-0 record.

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"I absolutely understand and appreciate his thoughts and his way of fighting. I watch and I learn from every single thing that he does so that I'm able to do it the way I've understood it. That's how he inspires me, and I want to learn from him," Ritu Phogat told Sportskeeda.

Khabib's high-pressure style would often render opponents helpless and he appeared to favor overwhelming them throughout the fight rather than going for quick finishes. It's an approach that Phogat wants to emulate.

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"I've been watching his videos ever since I was a child," Phogat added. "I really like the style of his fighting and the way he faces his opponents. So, I really want to make a name for myself the way that he's made it in the world and that's how I feel inspired."

Khabib's achievements helped bring fame to Dagestan, a republic of Russia now renowned for producing exceptional wrestlers who have had success in MMA. After Khabib's exploits, we're now seeing the likes of Timur Valiev, Askar Askarov, Islam Makhachev and many more starting to show similar prowess in the octagon. Ritu Phogat hopes she can blaze a similar trail for martial artists coming out of India.

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"This is not just about me," she said. "This is for all those other athletes, MMA fighters and all the other girls around the nation who want to make their path in mixed martial arts. I want to pave a way for them to make their mark for India," Ritu Phogat continued.

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Ritu Phogat's MMA career

Ritu Phogat recently earned her way back into the ONE women's atomweight world grand prix as the only representative from India. She initially relinquished her place in the tournament following a hotly-debated split decision loss to Bi Nguyen at ONE: Dangal.

Following that disappointment, Ritu Phogat made her way back into the tournament with what has been the most impressive win of her career so far. Facing Lin Heqin (14-3) at ONE: Battleground, she was able to snap the Chinese fighter's formidable 11-fight winning streak and took home the win via unanimous decision.

Speaking about overcoming her defeat to Nguyen, Ritu Phogat said:

"After the defeat from Bi I was really determined to beat Lin so I wanted to give my best in the fight. This was definitely a tough fight, but I took it up as a challenge and that's how I overcame it."

She also said that her win against Heqin was important for her career.

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"This win is very important because it gave me a lot of confidence because of the loss against BI. This confidence will help me a lot moving forward with the grand prix."

Speaking about her wish to become India's first female world champion in MMA, Ritu Phogat added:

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"I'm definitely ready for the grand prix and I'm willing to take up all the challenges that are coming my way to become the world's number 1, India's first female world champion, and I definitely deserve to be in the grand prix."

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