SINGAPORE — There are 1.4 billion people in India but none currently on the books of the
Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC).
اضافة اعلان
Anshul “King of Lions” Jubli believes he is about to
change that.
The 27-year-old mixed martial arts fighter this week
takes his unbeaten 5–0 record to Singapore and the inaugural Asia-wide edition
of the “Road to UFC”.
The tournament is designed to unearth untapped
potential from the region and Jubli believes that he will win — and the
floodgates will open for Indian fighters wanting to join the world’s major MMA
promotion.
“Getting to the UFC is the dream,” Jubli, who fights
in the lightweight category, told AFP.
“I can promise
you that once I get signed that within four years you will see many, many
Indian fighters follow me. This is just the beginning.”
There has previously been one Indian-born fighter
with a UFC contract, featherweight Bharat Khandare, who in 2017 lost his only
fight and was consequently let go.
Jubli was born in
the picturesque northern Indian mountain town of Uttarkashi and his father was
in the Indian Army’s border security forces.
The young Jubli ended up going with him to postings
all over the country, before deciding to follow in his footsteps and sign up.
That’s when Jubli’s life changed forever.
“I started learning
MMA because I knew it would help
with my army physical exams, but I soon realized it was MMA that I wanted to
do, not join the army,” said Jubli.
“My father is quite happy but I know my mother still
hopes that I will quit and become a doctor or a lawyer. There’s no chance of
that.
“I am strong, I have all the skills and I am only
getting better and better.”
‘Pressure-cooker’
After a 13–0 run through
India’s amateur MMA ranks, Jubli turned professional in 2019 and is unbeaten
since.
Road to UFC is the first edition of an Asia-wide
version of the UFC’s The Ultimate Fighter series which has unearthed 11 future
champions, among them current welterweight king, the Nigerian-American Kamaru
Usman.
It offers a window of opportunity for 32 fighters
from as far afield as India and
China, Indonesia and the Philippines, nations
that are among the world’s major population centers but relatively
unrepresented on the global stage, in a sport that bills itself as the fastest
growing on the planet.
Jubli will be joined in the lightweight tournament
by compatriot Pawan Maan (7–2–1). The victors this week will proceed to further
events later in the year and, if they keeping winning, the chance for a UFC
contract.
“You’ve got to imagine if you take just India and China,
the billions of people they have there, then there has to be some incredible,
incredible talent somewhere,” UFC president Dana White told AFP.
“This tournament is a good way to get these kids some
experience. Put them in a little bit of a pressure-cooker situation and see how
they do.”
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